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An ad hoc coalition of anti-windpower groups from around New York will meet in Albany, N.Y., Monday, Feb. 6, to lobby against New York's indirect underwriting of wind farms.
An ad hoc coalition of anti-windpower groups from around New York will meet in Albany, N.Y., Monday, Feb. 6, to lobby against New York's indirect underwriting of wind farms.
Calling the event "The Albany Tea Party," the anti-wind groups, who mainly hail from rural areas near wind farms, will push legislators to rein in commercial wind power projects and take control of the state's energy policy, said Ruth Matilsky, one of the event organizers.
The groups are opposed to the state's current Renewable Portfolio Standards which encourage wind power production by mandating that utilities provide renewable power to customers and provides production tax credits to wind power companies, Matilsky said. The money spent to encourage wind power production, which comes from a $24 million surcharge on electricity bills, should be spent encouraging energy conservation instead, she said.
Wind power does not make enough of …
Calling the event "The Albany Tea Party," the anti-wind groups, who mainly hail from rural areas near wind farms, will push legislators to rein in commercial wind power projects and take control of the state's energy policy, said Ruth Matilsky, one of the event organizers.
The groups are opposed to the state's current Renewable Portfolio Standards which encourage wind power production by mandating that utilities provide renewable power to customers and provides production tax credits to wind power companies, Matilsky said. The money spent to encourage wind power production, which comes from a $24 million surcharge on electricity bills, should be spent encouraging energy conservation instead, she said.
Wind power does not make enough of a contribution to the state's energy grid to make it worth the investment, Matilsky said. During the summer months when power is needed most, its least likely to be windy, she said.
At the same time, the wind power industry is playing down the adverse environmental impacts of this power, she said. The towers interfere with the flight paths of birds and bats, they're noisy, construction interrupts water tables, and ice being thrown from the turbine blades is a hazard.
Patrick Doyle, director of development for Horizon Wind Energy's northeast region, which is headquartered in Albany, said Matilsky and her allies are just plain wrong.
His company recently opened the $380 million Maple Ridge Wind Farm on the Tug Hill Plateau in Lewis County which will produce about one percent of New York's power need, Doyle said. On Friday, New York electricity users were consuming an average of 19,800 megawatts of power, according to the New York Independent System Operator.
Wind turbines are a very viable power source, Doyle emphasized.
Noise from the latest generation of turbines has been greatly reduced, he said. Doyle disputed the idea that wind turbines will kill large numbers of birds. One or two birds, per year, will be killed by hitting a wind turbine, Doyle said. It's estimated that 19 million birds are killed annually in North America when they run into buildings, are hit by cars, or killed by domestic cats, he said.
He also downplayed the idea that ice flying from turbine blades is a serious hazard. The wind turbines must be set back 500 feet from roads and 1,500 feet from buildings so danger is minimized, Doyle said.
Landowners who lease property for windfarms also benefit, Doyle emphasized. He spoke to a Lewis County farmer who just received his $13,000 quarterly lease check, and the man said that was as much as he could be expected to make in a month from farming, Doyle said.