NY Town of Huron Votes "NO" on Offshore Wind

The NYS Town of Huron town board (Wayne County) officially took a position opposing the New York Power Authority's plan for offshore wind farms in Lake Ontario and voted 5 to 0 against it. Huron is a rural lake shore town and NYPA's map indicated the potential for an offshore wind farm off Huron's coast. ALL towns and counties along Lakes Ontario and Erie need to follow Huron's lead and pass similar resolutions to put a halt to NYPA's and Gov. Paterson's threat of industrializing the Great Lakes.

Genesee Co. Planners Say "NO" to NYS Thruway Turbines

It didn’t take long for Genesee County planners to understand Gov. Paterson’s horrible plans for gigantic turbines placed along the NYS Thruway at the interchanges. By NYS suggesting that it might erect just one turbine as a possibility at the Batavia interchange - caused a unanimous reaction from the planners as published in Batavia’s Daily News newspaper - please read:

Genesee Planners Oppose Windmills Near Thruway Exit
by Paul Mrozek of the Batavia Daily News

Friday, January 15, 2010 6:27 PM EST
Members of the Genesee County Planning Board said Thursday they want no part of a state proposal to erect commercial windmills by Exit 48 of the Thruway in Batavia.

The board voted 9-0 to inform the Thruway Authority it is not in favor of the plan. The reason for the opposition is that windmills would pose a potential safety hazard for planes that use the County Airport.

Planning Director Jim Duval said the airport, on Saile Drive in the town of Batavia, is about 4,500 feet from the Thruway’s Batavia interchange.

Duval said county Highway Superintendent Tim Hens received a letter this week from the Thruway Authority that asked for local input on the proposal. Proximity to the airport was an issue raised by Hens.
Thruway officials  “don’t share the same concerns that Tim Hens does,” Duval said.

The planning director said it seems as if the state “is fishing a little bit,” to try to take measure of the responses to the windmill plan unveiled this week. The proposal calls for installation of electricity-generating turbines along the Thruway in Batavia and sections of the interstate highway that parallel the shore of Lake Erie in Erie and Chautauqua counties.

Duval said there is no local control over Thruway Authority policy or plans. The state agency “can pretty much do what they want,” he said.

Turbines Along the NYS Thruway?

Well Gov. Paterson is at it again. Not only is he willing to sacrific Lakes Ontario and Erie - he's willing to place industrial turbines along the NYS Thruway and word about this possibility surfaced recently. People now living near the potential sites will need to tolerate yet another nuisance (in addition to traffic noise and light trespass) from turbine noise and the horrid daytime view of them too! This shows how desperate Paterson is for money to add to the state coffers. The following text is from the National Wind Watch web site.



The Thruway Authority announced Friday (1/8/10) it will seek proposals from the wind turbine industry to assess the feasibility of constructing “medium-sized” windmills at six Thruway sites in Western New York.

The idea is to determine if the authority could generate power from the machines to sustain many of its own operations and possibly sell excess power back to the grid, spokeswoman Betsy Graham said.

“We think this goes a long way to offset our utility costs, and in turn, protect and enhance the environment,” she said.

The interchanges under study for turbines are Batavia, Eden-Angola, Silver Creek, Dunkirk, Westfield and Ripley.

Graham said the proposed turbines are not as big as those n the Bethlehem Steel site and will be appropriately sized for the Thruway properties at the exits. She said the studies will also determine if wind velocity at the six sites is strong enough to sustain the proposed turbines. It is expected the authority will make a final decision on the idea this summer, Graham added.

“The Thruway Authority is eager to hear from the wind power development industry as to how it can work towards a more sustainable environment and making New York a greener state, benefiting all New Yorkers,” said Thruway Executive Director Michael R. Fleischer.

The plan is also part of Gov. David A. Paterson’s objective of meeting 45 percent of the state’s electricity needs through energy efficiency and renewable energy.

“Last month, I accepted the State Energy Plan which provides a detailed road map for achieving this clean energy target, and one of the recommendations is to inventory state-owned land that is suitable for renewable energy development,” Paterson said. “I commend the Thruway Authority for acting so swiftly to help us implement this piece of the State Energy Plan.”