There is no formal proposal to install wind turbines in Lake Erie waters off Western New York. But nearly 100 people showed up at an Erie County Legislature meeting on Thursday anticipating or fearing that day is coming soon. Clean energy advocates pressed legislators to be open-minded about wind energy use. Though there are currently no freshwater wind farms in the United States, a six-turbine project is expected to be installed eight miles off the Lake Erie shores of Cleveland.

Impact on Views Offshore Wind New York

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. — This affluent enclave on the East End of Long Island is steeped in eco-conscious pride, with strict water quality and land preservation rules and an abundance of electric cars on the roads. 

Impact on Landscape Impact on Views New York

According to the transcript published in the Legislative Gazette, in his Jan. 10 State of the State address at Farmingdale State College, Mr. Cuomo stated the following: “I’m calling on LIPA [Long Island Power Authority] to approve a 90 megawatt wind farm. It’s enough to support 50,000 homes. They will not be visible from the beach. They will be 30 miles southeast of Montauk. Not even Superman standing on Montauk Point could see these wind farms.”

Impact on Landscape Impact on Views New York

Two East End town officials who have expressed support for a wind farm 30 miles from the coast of Montauk to power the South Fork say a separate potential wind farm 12 miles off the coast of the South Fork would meet resistance if the state pursues it.

Impact on Views Offshore Wind USA New York

Residents of both affected towns have responded in opposition in multiple surveys. The Somerset Town Board is 100 percent opposed and the Yates town supervisor, who had not opposed it, was voted out of office in November. The legislatures in Niagara and Orleans counties are on record against it. New York State Sen. Rob Ortt told a packed meeting at the Barker Fire Hall on Dec. 8, “This project needs to stop. My focus is to kill the project.”

Impact on Landscape Impact on Views New York

Two hours after opening, the fire hall was still full of upset residents visualizing the wrecking of their hometown. Wind turbines seemed an unlikely candidate to join the “not in my backyard” family of unwanteds such as hazardous waste landfills and nuclear power, yet the environmental group SOS had attacked wind power from many angles. The crowd, who knew each other by name, seemed to have reached an opinion before arriving and their skepticism was only strengthened by the end of the meeting.

Impact on Views Impact on People New York

BP failed to include all residents in a recent visual impact survey for the proposed Cape Vincent wind project, leaving out women in particular, according to town officials. In a recent letter to the state Public Service Commission, town officials said "many residents of the town of Cape Vincent did not receive surveys, particularly women."

Impact on Views Impact on Landscape New York

The Niagara County Legislature voted, 14-4, Tuesday to oppose the New York Power Authority's Great Lakes wind power project. "We listened to our citizens, and we reflect the voice of the people," said Legislator David E. Godfrey, RWilson.

Impact on Views New York

The Sept. 1 letter of Claire Jones hits a key point. Ms. Jones apparently is a regular visitor to the Thousand Island area from far away. I too am a regular visitor, and like so many, we cannot believe how some local town officials are seriously prepared to transform the area in a most profound way. Having seen the Maple Ridge Wind Farm many times on my way to the Thousand Islands, I am shocked that efforts are under way to bring such visually dominating infrastructure to the Thousand Islands.

Impact on Views Impact on People Impact on Landscape Canada New York

The wind turbines on Wolfe Island in Canada can be seen in Watertown, 30 miles away. How many times can a man turn his head, and pretend that he just doesn't see, The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind, The answer is blowing in the wind.

Impact on Views Canada New York

The presence of these overwhelming techno-energy giants brings to mind a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. ...It's hard to see anything else. When I look towards the water, I don't see the natural beauty of Kingston's harbour anymore. I don't see Garden Island, Simcoe Island or even Wolfe Island, as my vision is drawn to these massive propellers waiting in rest or whirling away, depending on the breeze. If the daytime view isn't bad enough, the blinking red warning lights on the towers at night light up the sky like a runway at Pearson International Airport.

Impact on Views Impact on People Canada New York

My house and land is in Prattsburgh, across from turbine sites for the Ecogen wind project, and my wife owns adjacent property in Naples, Ontario County. I've heard some people say "what's happening in the hills with the wind turbines won't affect me." What these folks may not yet realize is that, if these turbines are allowed to damage the value of adjacent properties, their taxes will go up. And the first step in this one-two process has just started.

Impact on Views Property Values Impact on Landscape New York

Balloon tests performed this week in Westfield gave residents their first real feel of the height of the proposed Ripley-Westfield wind farm. Babcock and Brown performed the test as part of their environmental impact study required by the state. "The balloon testing is performed in support of the visual impact assessment to be included in the DEIS," said Peter Gross of Babcock and Brown.

Impact on Views Impact on Landscape New York

The balloon tests scheduled for last week as part of Babcock & Brown's Visual Impact Assessment for the proposed Ripley-Westfield wind project have been postponed due to weather and modified due to concerns that the original tests would not accurately represent the full visual impact of the proposed wind turbines.

Impact on Views Impact on Landscape New York

When St. Lawrence Wind submitted its draft environmental study to Cape Vincent, there was no assessment considering the viewshed impact from the St. Lawrence River. This is astounding and negligent considering much of Cape Vincent's economy is tourism based on water recreation. Many people will view this industrial wind plant from the water.

Impact on Views Impact on Landscape New York

The company building two wind farms in Cohocton will contribute $50,000 for restoration work at Memorial Town Hall in Naples. The Town Board voted unanimously last week to accept the cash; otherwise, it would go back to Cohocton for historic preservation projects there. The $50,000 is part of $200,000 UPC Wind agreed to set aside to compensate for the effect modern wind towers would have on the historic character of the area. Naples qualified for a share because one of the Cohocton turbines is visible when driving south through Naples on Main Street.

Impact on Views General New York

A recent letter about the Jordanville Wind Project oversimplifies the opposition of the Holy Trinity Monastery and others to the location of the proposed wind farm. The monks are not selfishly choosing serenity over clean energy. Rather, their concerns speak to a larger issue: the impact of industrial-scale wind turbine projects on New York's historic, scenic and cultural resources. In fact, the Preservation League of New York State named the Holy Trinity Monastery to our Seven to Save list of endangered places this month in part to call attention to the need for statewide siting standards for wind energy projects.

Impact on Views Impact on People Impact on Landscape New York

The Preservation League of New York State has jumped into a wind-project controversy in Jordanville, naming the Holy Trinity Monastery to the group's annual list of New York's most-threatened historic resources: ``Seven to Save.'' The nonprofit group says tranquility at the monastery, which sits on 750 acres in southern Herkimer County, would be ruined if a proposal to site about 50 wind turbines in the area ever moves forward. ``The Holy Trinity Monastery is of extraordinary historic, religious and cultural significance, but it is currently threatened by an industrial-scale wind energy project,'' Jay DiLorenzo, the nonprofit organization's president, said Friday. Panoramic views and contemplative quiet will disappear from the surrounding countryside if wind tubines are erected as proposed by Iberdrola, DiLorenzo said.

Impact on Views Noise Impact on Landscape New York

Residents who support the Jordanville Wind Project in the towns of Warren and Stark were faced with another obstacle last week in the building of a wind farm. The New York State Preservation League has announced that the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville is being placed on the "Seven To Save" list. ...Being placed on this list means the windmills will not be able to be built without review of the negative impact they could have on the monastery and an agreement between the two parties.

Impact on Views General Impact on Landscape New York

Photos simulating turbine blades that soar above the treetops and church steeples here are giving residents an uneasy feeling. PPM Atlanta Renewable is proposing the 62-turbine Horse Creek Wind Farm in the towns of Clayton and Orleans, and is distributing photos depicting what the turbines will look ... Patricia Booras-Miller, vice president of Environmentally Concerned Citizens Organization of Jefferson County ...argued that the pictures were "made aesthetically pleasing" and that, when comparing the simulated towers to the trees, silos and utility poles, it's apparent the turbines' true height is not represented accurately. Though the 407-foot turbines are actually "10 times the height of a utility pole," they appear in the photos "to be only slightly higher," Mrs. Booras-Miller wrote in an e-mail Wednesday. "The views do not appear to be to scale and therefore not realistic.

Impact on Views Impact on Landscape New York