Richard Kessel, President of the New York Power Authority is expending all his energy these days pursuing an issue that will hurt New Yorkers! He’s attempting to sell your government officials and the public an idea that planting wind turbines in the Great Lakes is good for our state. Well – he’s wrong! Kessel is touring NYS trying desperately to pedal this horrible use of the Great Lakes to whoever will listen.
“Our goal is to have an offshore wind project . . . within five years,” said Kessel, who developed plans for a controversial wind power project off Jones Beach when he served as president of the Long Island Power Authority. The plan was scuttled. But Kessel’s back with a vengeance and now he’s targeting the Great Lakes. That’s unfortunate!
Here’s why concerned New Yorkers should actively and strongly oppose offshore wind projects in Lakes Ontario and Erie:
Lakeshore property owners will not tolerate the tremendous loss of property value and marketability that are certain to occur wherever offshore turbines are located. Turbines will cause lower assessments of neighboring property and thus a higher tax rate for the rest of the community.
Lakeshore property owners pay the highest state/local property taxes because of their beautiful waterfront locations and do not wish their view shed to be forever ruined by the sight of 450 ft. high offshore wind turbines located in the lake generating small amounts of electricity to be sent downstate to metropolitan areas. The certain loss of view and quiet enjoyment by lakeshore property owners is unacceptable.
Lakeshore property owners don’t want light trespassing (both direct and reflecting) as a result of blinking red strobe lights atop the offshore turbines. There may be turbine mid-base lighting and navigation lighting too – all of which contribute to loss of darkness, reflecting lighting off the water, etc. – all of which is unacceptable. Turbine blade shuttering and reflections will also be a nuisance. Their property suddenly becomes a Turbinetown, an undesirable place to live.
Lakeshore property owners do not want the loud noise, both audible and inaudible, generated by the turbines. The noise would be far worse than that already well documented from terrestrial turbines wherever turbines are now in place since there is no foliage/hills/buildings to help absorb noise. Studies show sound travels 3 times farther over water than land. Multiple turbines increase sound intensity. This is not only a nuisance but a serious health problem called wind turbine syndrome. A new book being released November 2009 documents the many serious health problems caused by wind turbines – read: Wind Turbine Syndrome by Dr. Nina Pierpont.
Wind turbines produce low-frequency noise (LFN) and seismic vibrations—on this there is no longer any question or worthwhile debate hence there will be huge negative implications for all aquatic life wherever the offshore turbines are located. When it is discovered that offshore turbines have an enormous affect on fishing do you think they will be turned off and removed? Once installed they will be there for the rest of your life. Read Dr. Nina Pierpont’s article Fish and Wind Turbines Don’t Mix that can be found on the internet.
Recreational & commercial boaters and fishermen could not possibly welcome this appalling use of the Great Lakes that can only create a danger for them, particularly during the nighttime hours, and place restrictions on where they can use their boats. Don’t listen to Kessel tell you offshore turbines won’t have an effect on boating and fishing! These lies were doled out continuously to property owners where turbines were planned when turbine neighbors were told they made no noise and didn’t devalue homes – and look what has happened to them. There can be unknown fish impacts that aren’t discovered until the development is created.
Monopole construction of wind turbine bases can cause silt debris, contamination of potable water intakes, disruption of water intakes for nuclear power sites, fracturing the bedrock during monopole construction thus allowing sulphur into the water, and also stirring up unknown sediments from prior pollution.
Scuba diving could be affected as well as historic shipwreck sites
Marina owners & the charter fishing boat industry will lose business as a result of the offshore turbines and new rules that will affect boating in a negative way.
Tourists will avoid any area blighted by the installation of offshore turbines. How would you like to view a sunrise or sunset through spinning turbine blades? Have a look at nearby Wolfe Island on the St. Lawrence! The wind folly there can be seen from Watertown.
Bird and bat kill carnage (blade tips rotating at 200 MPH) cannot be avoided. The Atlantic flyway crosses Lake Ontario right where some offshore wind farms are proposed. Offshore turbines conflict with safe bird havens.
Winter ice conditions will damage and destroy the turbines and deter winter maintenance.
There will be certain wind turbine caused electromagnetic interference affecting microwave signals, power surges, TV reception loss, weather radar interference - causing corrupt data, false precipitation signals, doppler radar – wind turbine flutter, aircraft & boating communication interference – its already happened!
Dirty tricks played on unsuspecting property owners by the corrupt wind industry are now well known. Can you wonder why NYS Attorney General Cuomo is investigating the corrupt wind industry and asking the wind developers in NYS to adopt and sign his wind industry ethics code? What other industry or business have you ever heard of in NYS being asked to sign an ethics code? Does this speak well of the wind industry? New York cannot afford the corrupt wind industry or their bait ‘n switch tactics.
Clearly, most local governments are not equipped to deal with the aggressiveness of wind farm developers or to evaluate the technical, economic, environmental and energy implications of “wind farms” or deal with people like NYPA President Richard Kessel. This is particularly true when wind industry lobbyists have already pushed tax breaks, subsidies, and other measures favorable to “wind farm” owners through state legislatures. Elected local officials are easily coerced (or intimidated) by developers (maybe by NYPA too) and often end up supporting projects before they have any real grasp of their long-term implications. Cultivating elected officials is part of the wind developer’s operating scheme and this is where Mr. Kessel fits in nicely.
Ask the numerous upstate and northern NYS land owners that trusted wind developers to develop a wind farm on their property but were later hit with a lien (this year) because the developer failed to pay his bills to the contractors. Now the land owners can’t do anything with their property and have a huge lien to deal with that they cannot afford. Read: 47 New Liens Filed Against Nobel Environmental Power on the National Wind Watch website.
Dripping toxic wind turbine fluids will pollute the lakes – hundreds of gallons are in each nacelle.
Turbines might be abandoned after 10 years because all the tax benefits had been captured, performance has deteriorated, newer more efficient technology has replaced 400+ ft. high turbines or maintenance costs become prohibitive. And there they are in Lakes Ontario and Erie – rusting away like 400’ high junk cars.
Taxpayer money dedicated to offshore wind development is money that could otherwise be invested in worthwhile and effective electrical generating projects such as solar or nuclear. Oswego has plenty of positive experience with nuclear and gas electrical generating energy that also provides good jobs.
Unknown impacts will also develop AFTER the wind farm is constructed and these impacts may never be corrected thus hurting man and nature forever. There are NO offshore wind turbines in North America. Do we want to be a guinea pigs in Kessel’s experiment?
Today’s Kessel presentation was deliberately kept quiet – by request of course – this is how covert the wind industry normally operates. Does Mr. Kessel believe in transparent government? Does Mr. Kessel care about your property value or your health or quality of life? Does Mr. Kessel live near Turbinetown?
************************************************************************************
Above information respectfully provided by Al Isselhard; email: speedway2742@gmail.com
Most of the above information was handed out to attendees at the 11/13/09 NYPA presentation in Oswego, NY city hall. About 70 people attended the presentation.
See Beware NY Wind blog "2,200 Offshore Turbines Planned for Lakes Ontario & Erie" for a report on the NYPA presentation at Oswego city hall on 11/13/09.
Please visit this great Canadian anti offshore turbine site dealing with Lake Erie and more in depth studies of this issue. Google CALEWT for Citizens Against Lake Erie Wind Turbines and see their video. Their website address is: http://lakeeriewindturbines.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
A most informative article.
ReplyDeleteI'm on Lake Erie and I have a gut feeling that this will be the nail in the coffin of this beautiful Lake.
The destruction of the ecology here will happen first, followed by the destruction of the human population that lives here.
Nice Info! Therefore, these junk cars will be traded into the marketplace and this is how a junk car removal company will be making benefits out of this business.
ReplyDeleteCash For Junk Cars | Junk Car Buyers