Wayne Co. New York - Say NO to NYPA & Offshore Wind

The Wayne Co. Board of Supervisors will HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING and vote on March 31, 2010 on whether to support an effort by the New York Power Authority to industrialize and ruin Lakes Ontario and Erie by promoting offshore wind turbines in the Great Lakes. You have a chance to speak against this outrageous plan by attending their meeting at 7 pm in the Wayne county courthouse in Lyons, NY, speaking out AGAINST offshore wind and letting the supervisors know this plan is bad for Wayne County as they are planning to vote on this issue at their March 31st meeting. There is considerable other offshore info on this blog site - search for NYPA and offshore articles. The map photos with this article show the potential locations in Lake Ontario that are being shown by NYPA to wind development companies world-wide trying to attract them to develop these wind farms. Dark areas in the lake 2.3 miles off shore are the potential locations but NYPA says the turbine location could be anywhere in NYS waters. DON'T LET THE DOWNSTATE NYPA PANDERERS FOOL YOU WHILE THEY TRASH LAKES ONTARIO AND ERIE!!!!! Jefferson and Oswego Counties have already said NO to NYPA earlier this month. There is nothing in this plan that does any good for Wayne County. Allowing just one of these turbines would create a domino effect and before long there would be thousands in our beautiful lake for the rest of our lives. Governor Paterson also heavily backs NYPA in this disaster - what does that tell you! When NYPA tells you this project will bring thousands of jobs and reduce America's dependence on mid-east oil they are LIARS.

A Tale of NYPA Folly, Richie, and Upstate New York

After attending a crowded community meeting in Pulaski, NY on the evening of March 3, 2010 in the Oswego County courthouse hosted by the newly formed Joint Commission for the Preservation of Lake Ontario Communities – this writer realized how well focused and strong people in this upstate area had become organized against New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) plans for the Great Lakes Offshore Wind Project (GLOW). The Joint Commission is non-partison and composed of people (including legislators) from both Jefferson and Oswego Counties opposed to NYPA’s repulsive GLOW project. Another major player in this mix opposed to the GLOW project is the Coalition for the Preservation of the Golden Crescent and the 1000 Islands Region based in the Jefferson/Oswego counties area.

At about 7pm March 9, 2010, Tuesday evening, Richie Kessel, CEO & President of the New York Power Authority, and his entourage , appeared at the Jefferson Co. historic courthouse in Watertown, NY (seen in the above photo postulating at the podium) with their dog and pony show to promote the dreaded NYPA GLOW project in Jefferson County. Kessel and his down state minions were greeted with numerous anti-wind signs posted about the courthouse façade same as they were in Pulaski the week before for the Joint Commission meeting. Kessel did nearly all the preaching for NYPA and began by attempting to intimate there essentially was no project - yet. (This is like telling a condemned man not to worry about his execution – that it hasn’t been decided yet if the method will be by hanging, shooting, chemical injection, gas or electricity or who will deliver final blow & when) Kessel stated numerous times that if an offshore wind farm was unwanted in the Jefferson Co. area - it would not happen there. Kessel stated that many NYS counties wanted a project like this and mentioned Erie and Niagara counties as among them. He also promised thousands of jobs (manufacturing parts and assembling them) would be created for upstaters near wherever the offshore wind project was located. In NYPA’s Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) and Request For Proposals (RFP) there is no mention or guarantee of jobs for upstaters whatsoever as Kessel verbally promised! There is no guarantee that the turbines used would be USA made - its not required in either the RFEI or RFP. No guarantee that most workers would be US citizens – read the documents on the NYPA web site.

When a legislator asked who would pay for this offshore project Kessel answered that NYPA would not pay for it nor would taxpayers. Kessel said the developer would pay the whole cost of the wind project and that NYPA would buy all the power produced through a Power Purchase Agreement with NYPA. Now read what NYPA has in their RFEI that contradicts what Kessel stated:

3.4.3.1 Federal and State Incentives
NYPA is seeking information related to the expected federal and state incentives potentially available for a Great Lakes Offshore Wind Project, such as the Production Tax Credit and other government incentives, and the impacts of such incentives on pricing. NYPA is also seeking an analysis of potential grants that might be available from the Department of Energy pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for feasibility studies of wind sites and offshore wind projects.
Keeping in mind what Kessel said about who pays for the offshore wind project - not taxpayers - his RFEI clearly tells a different story -that DOE grants and ARRA monies will subsidize the wind farm. Now - can you trust Kessel?

Several questions were asked of Kessel by legislators demonstrating the main issue against an offshore wind project would be objections the legislators had concerning the GLOW impact on tourism – a major industry in this upstate area. Long into his talk Kessel had the nerve to state that people would actually travel to see an offshore wind farm in their area. This comment literally jolted spectators in their seats from an otherwise quiet crowd of about 60 people. Their shock & reaction at Kessel's outrageous statement surprised even Kessel himself.

Richie – lie to us if you wish - but DON’T insult us!

Kessel attempted several times to suggest that the legislators not vote on the project so soon (that night) and wait until developers submitted plans and then vote but the legislators would have none of this delay. Kessel and NYPA have an extremely aggressive timeline for this GLOW project. Kessel attempted to answer several more questions put forth by the legislators. When asked about a community benefits package he told legislators that there would be a benefits package for the area where the wind project was located but there is no mention or guarantee of this in either the RFEI or RFP – it’s simply not mentioned and something that would need to be provided by the developer not NYPA rate payers – simply more Kessel pandering. Kessel was asked about the output of the turbines and his NYPA associate stepped up and said the turbines would each develop 3 mw of power. Her answer is questionable as the NYPA RFEI says:

NYPA’s concept of a utility scale project suggests that the largest commercially available turbine may be required. As such, this RFEI requests information concerning the largest lake-based wind turbine that is currently available (or is expected to be available) on the market as well as the prospects and timing for larger turbines.

Does this all sound like a 3 mw turbine for GLOW? No it doesn’t! Believe what’s in writing – that’s what the developers are basing their proposals on. Ten megawatt turbines are now being developed. Turbines wouldn't be placed in the lake for maybe 2 years and all the while newer more powerful, larger, noiser units will be available and used.

Questions were not entertained from concerned citizens and area residents, probably a great relief to Kessel, and he and his NYPA cortege of several - left the building about 8:45pm. Jefferson Co. Legislature Chairman Ken Blankenbush then asked if any legislator had comments. Legislator Kent Burto asked that the resolution on the floor against an offshore wind project be amended to support Niagara County’s efforts to get an offshore wind project in their area and this comment brought laughter to the great unwashed and legislators too. Legislator Chairman Blankenbush asked if Burto was serious about his amendment and Burto said he was serious. Then another legislator seconded Burto’s amendment and the amendment passed unanimously. Chairman Blankenbush then asked if any legislator had questions on the resolution opposing the NYPA offshore wind project and hearing none he called for a vote on the resolution. The vote was 14 to 0 against the NYPA offshore wind project. Following the vote Chairman Blankenbush took comments from several concerned people that attended the session – none of which spoke in favor of the GLOW project. Its unfortunate Kessel didn’t stay another 10 minutes to witness the defeating blow to his fallacious plans. Later, word outside the meeting room was that Kessel & NYPA cannot be trusted and could very well pursue locating a wind farm in eastern Lake Ontario anyway - regardless of the vote since the offshore project is within NYS but not within the jurisdiction of a municipality.

As an aside – this writer emailed the chairman of the Niagara County Legislature the following day to ask if they supported NYPA’s plans for an GLOW project in Lake Ontario off Niagara County and an answer was received a few hours later. It reads:

Niagara County is interested in economic development that will create jobs. Yes, the county supports the proposed offshore wind farm by NYPA.

Niagara County wants the megawatts generated by the proposed offshore wind farm to stay in Niagara County for economic development and / or reduction in energy rates for our county.

Bill Ross

************************************************************************************************************

One cannot help but wonder what the Niagara County legislature’s attitude would be if NYPA could not or would not agree to the second part of Mr. Ross’ statement? One cannot help but wonder how the many boaters & fishermen using the Niagara River will react to NYPA’s plans off the Niagara County shoreline? NYPA would need to bias the GLOW project from the river centerline to the east since the Canadian border is also the river centerline. One cannot help but wonder how the Canadians will respond to an NYPA offshore wind project well within their view. Turbines anywhere in the lake offshore from Niagara County would easily be seen from Toronto. The area where the Niagara River flows into Lake Ontario is extremely historic and no doubt there will be significant resistance to offshore wind when people in this area, both Canadians and New Yorkers, hear of the impending NYPA GLOW debacle near the mouth of the Niagara River. This area also lacks a staging area in US waters.

But old Richie didn’t tell the Jefferson Co. Legislature about his little tiff going on with the Niagara County Legislature. It should be mentioned that Niagara County is in a bitter lawsuit against NYPA and NYS over NYPA’s sweep of $544M in NYPA surplus ratepayer monies that were “donated” last year by NYPA to Gov. Paterson’s General Fund to help balance the NYS budget. When the Niagara County legislature discovered this deal between NYPA and NYS - the Niagara Co. Legislature demanded the monies be returned to NYPA for the benefit of ratepayers and when this didn’t happen the Niagara Co. Legislature sued and the matter is now going through the court system. Sad thing is that Niagara County has spent $171,000 (as of March 2010) since last summer funding lawyers to pursue the lawsuit – money that could have done taxpayers in Niagara County some good if Richie Kessel and NYPA hadn’t done this little favor for the man who appointed him. Do the readers sense a minor conflict of interest here? And more taxpayer money will be squandered on this lawsuit in the future thanks to Kessel and his cheerleader Paterson before everything is settled. This whole scenario reeks of abject Albany corruption – nothing new for New Yorkers!

On Thursday March 11, 2010 at a long afternoon meeting of the Oswego County legislature, county officials voted 20 to 4 against NYPA’s offshore wind project. Many Oswego Co. legislators had already observed Kessel during his Nov. 13, 2009 visitation to Oswego city hall promoting offshore wind. Word was that several people came to this week’s legislature meeting from SUNY Oswego College supporting the offshore wind project. After meeting for several hours - the legislature voted opposing NYPA’s offshore wind project. This is an especially bitter blow to Kessel’s GLOW project since Oswego has a fairly large harbor area that may have been a great staging, lay down, assembly area for wind turbine assembly prior to them being placed in the lake. There are few harbor areas within NYS in Lake Ontario - capable of hosting an area large enough to handle projects of this magnitude making this writer wonder if ports in Ontario, Canada may be used should the project move forward.

This writer is concerned that Kessel’s potential location choices for his GLOW project are diminishing and Wayne County residents should be concerned that the project may be driven in their direction and end up offshore from Wayne County. Virtually no Wayne County residents (lakeshore property owners and others) know about NYPA’s horrible plans to trash & industrialize Lakes Ontario and Erie. The Wayne County Board of Supervisors is well aware of NYPA’s plans but made no effort yet to deliver the NO message to Kessel like Jefferson County and Oswego County have. Three Wayne County town supervisors – Hoffman (Williamson), Leroy (Sodus) and Crane (Huron) – have publicly stated they are opposed to NYPA’s offshore wind factory. It should be mentioned that the town of Huron in Wayne County is the only NYS town that DID take action when last December the town board voted and passed a resolution unanimously opposed to NYPA’s plans for a GLOW project. Fortunately the Huron supervisor observed Kessel firsthand at the Oswego city hall NYPA presentation in November 2009 and considered the many pitfalls a GLOW project would bring her town. Wayne County, like Oswego County, currently has the very best source of electrical generating power on earth – nuclear power via the Robert Ginna plant – hence wind power in the lakes isn’t needed or wanted. Let Kessel and his lackeys erect the wind turbines on Long Island and around Manhattan where the power is needed. But that would be a difficult sell since Kessel and his offshore project were already kicked out of Long Island a few years ago and Kessel was shortly thereafter fired as head on Long Island Power Authority by former Gov. Spitzer. Wayne County needs to act soon opposing the NYPA GLOW project before Kessel's foot blocks the door.

NYPA’s deadline for wind developers to submit a Notice of Intent to Submit Proposal is March 20, 2010. NYPA’s web site says they will keep the names of any developer confidential that submits a Notice of Intent of Submit Proposal. This is, of course, to keep curious anti-GLOW people from knowing that mainly foreign companies will submit GLOW proposals and NYPA doesn’t want those concerned to know about this. This writer believes it is absolutely illegal for NYPA to withhold this information from the public on a FOIL request but getting the NYS AG’s office or NYS Dept. of State to enforce the FOIL is nearly impossible. This demonstrates NYPA’s attitude toward due diligence on transparency – we should be worried! Could this be why Jefferson County wouldn’t wait on voting in opposition to the GLOW project? Would you like a neighbor like NYPA running the show?

What also must be kept in mind is that controversial Kessel’s biggest advocate is none other than the man who appointed him – Governor Paterson. And we all know that Paterson, the most unpopular governor in NYS history in the most corrupt state, has less than a year on the job before his replacement inherits the scandals. This situation should make Kessel just a bit nervous about his employment future and his $240k/year salary. Ditto the NYSDEC chief – Pete Grannis - another offshore wind supporter and loathed NYS official.

Lake Erie town and county elected officials and populace - may be totally oblivious to the GLOW project.

One can only hope that with the departure of the most scorned Governor in NYS history that Kessel will soon follow Paterson and the final result will be the permanent termination of any GLOW project in the Great Lakes within NYS waters. Maybe the Jefferson County legislator’s vote wouldn’t have been so one-sided if Kessel hadn’t personally appeared before the legislature?

Municipalities Countersue Wind Farm

(Lewis County, NY and the involved taxing municipalities deserve the screwing they're getting from the wind companies for ever getting involved in wind energy to begin with! Not only are the taxing municipalities getting ripped - so are the land owners that have had liens put against their properties as a result of wind developers not paying their contractors for the work they did.)

Credit: By STEVE VIRKLER, TIMES STAFF WRITER, Watertown Daily Times, www.watertowndailytimes.com 18 February 2010

LOWVILLE — Maple Ridge Wind Farm municipalities are countersuing the wind company, claiming it is in default for failure to make its full annual payment in December.

“Plaintiff has no valid excuse or defense for its failure to pay,” states a recent legal filing from Kevin R. McAuliffe and David G. Burch of Syracuse law firm Hiscock & Barclay.

The firm is representing the involved taxing jurisdictions — Lewis County, the towns of Martinsburg, Harrisburg, Lowville and Watson and the Lowville, Copenhagen and South Lewis school districts — in a state Supreme Court lawsuit filed in late December by Flat Rock Windpower, the company under which the 195-turbine wind farm was developed.

The municipalities’ counterclaim asks the judge to dismiss the complaint, declare that Flat Rock was not entitled to make a lesser payment and is, therefore, in default of its 15-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement and order the payment of $6.7 million plus interest, penalties and legal fees.

Lewis County Attorney Richard J. Graham earlier this month sent a notice of default to the company, according to legal filings.

Flat Rock was billed in December for an $8.99 million annual payment but paid only $2.29 million and filed a lawsuit to justify the payment. Flat Rock claims it should pay only the so-called “fallback amount,” since it was decertified in June from the state Empire Zone program.

The company is appealing the state ruling but also seeking court approval of its PILOT interpretation, just in case its appeal is denied.

The attorneys for the municipalities dispute Flat Rock’s interpretation of the PILOT agreement.

They state that the fallback clause should only be invoked if the company’s property tax credits were “eliminated, reduced or capped through a change in law or regulation, but not as a result of Flat Rock’s failure to comply with the requirement of the Empire Zone Act.” That section of the PILOT specifically refers to Section 15 of state Tax Law, which has not been amended since Dec. 1, 2007, the counterclaim adds.

The filing also lays out a number of legal defenses the municipalities may employ, including failure to state a cause of action or act in good faith.

According to the Flat Rock lawsuit, the company has put $6.7 million into an escrow account with U.S. Bank that will be given to local taxing jurisdictions upon Empire Zone recertification.

The countersuit refers to the escrow as “an entirely self-serving act that allegedly permitted the Plaintiff to claim a tax deduction for the amount of deposit, but at the same time, deprived the Defendants of the benefits of the monies deposited.”

Flat Rock was one of 363 businesses that appealed their zone decertifications statewide. So far, the state Empire Zone Designation Board has recertified 10 companies and upheld the decertification of 93.

The board is slated to meet again at 9 a.m. Friday in Albany, but there is no indication which appeals will be acted upon.

Most of the companies awaiting decision on their appeals — including Flat Rock — were targeted as “shirt-changers,” or companies reincorporated as different entities that claimed they created jobs when, in reality, they transferred employees from one entity to the other.

While Flat Rock doesn’t seem to fit that definition, it was apparently lumped into the category based on the company’s response to a question in its 2006 financial report to Empire State Development, Mr. Graham has said.

A Dose of Raw Hipocrisy

Credit: Watertown Daily Times, www.watertowndailytimes.com 17 February 2010

For raw, undisguised political pandering, you’re going to have to search for awhile before you can top the Jefferson County Legislature, which will consider a resolution at its next meeting to oppose the New York Power Authority’s proposal to seek wind developers for offshore locations in a wide strip roughly from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to Mexico Bay.

This is the legislature, led by Ken Blankenbush’s public salivation over a 20-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, that bent over backwards (some would say they bent the other way) to get the Galloo Island Wind Farm on the way to reality. Apparently that project, which will be visible from shore, will be much prettier than any as yet unproposed projects in the lake – since one of the Legislature’s objections to the NYPA proposal is the aesthetics of the projects and the potential adverse effects on property values.

Wow. Belleville Legislator Barry Ormsby’s absurd contention that the NYPA proposals and Galloo Island are nothing alike aside, both are wind farms out in the lake. That the NYPA plan has towers planted on the state’s lake bottom, while Galloo Island towers will be on ground taxed by the town of Hounsfield and Jefferson County, seems to be the only real distinction between the proposals.

And there is the rub: like just about everyone else who has had cash carried by wind project developers rubbed under their nose, the county Legislature can’t resist the bitter but alluring smell of lucre.

In fact, I’ve got a tip for NYPA chief Richie Kessel: all you’ll have to do to make this opposition melt away is to propose a PILOT payment agreement for any offshore wind farm that is proposed. That will make the project pretty once again – even if it is little more than lipstick on a pig.

The Legislature’s action plays to the group of activists trying to keep wind farms out of the Golden Crescent. Blankenbush, Ormsby and others seem to think those folks will easily distinguish between the Galloo Island project and any other offshore project that comes along. I suspect, however, the folks united to oppose all wind farm development along the stretch from Oswego to Cape Vincent will see the raw hypocrisy of the Legislature’s action, as I suspect everyone else will, too.

Jefferson Co. Says NO to Offshore Wind

Legislature opposed to wind farms in the lake

By NANCY MADSEN

TIMES STAFF WRITER

WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010

ARTICLE OPTIONS

A wind power project on an island is OK, but turbines in the lake are not.

The Jefferson County Board of Legislators' Planning and Development Committee passed on Tuesday night a resolution opposing the New York Power Authority's plan to put a wind farm in Lake Ontario.

NYPA has asked for developers to submit proposals on building towers for up to 500 megawatts of wind power in possible sites in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

This action came two weeks after the legislators approved a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement for the proposed 252-megawatt Galloo Island Wind Farm.

"While I certainly intend to support it at the full board, my concern is our inconsistency in our message," Legislator Scott A. Gray, R-Watertown, said. Mr. Gray is not a member of the committee. "We're opposing a project with some of the very same things we approved a few weeks ago with the Galloo Island project."

The resolution included language that the NYPA project would hurt landowners, "including potential effects on real estate values, scenic vistas, and quality of life."

Chairman Barry M. Ormsby, R-Belleville, disagreed.

"The two projects, when compared side-by-side, are apples and oranges," he said. "One project is on a 2,200-acre island six-and-a-half miles offshore where 84 turbines will be confined."

He acknowledged that a certain section of the shoreline will see the turbines.

"But compared to the possible NYPA sites on the maps, you see a total littering of the Eastern basin from Tibbets Point to Mexico Bay," he said.

The six members of the committee at the meeting approved the resolution, which the full board will consider on March 2

Dear Mr. President - from Congressman Massa

February 15, 2010

President Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500-0005

Dear Mr. President:

In recent months, I have learned of some very troubling news regarding the use of stimulus funds for supporting wind industry jobs abroad. I do not believe this use of U.S. taxpayer dollars is in accordance with the purposes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and I request that your Administration refrain from giving any awards to wind companies tunneling money to foreign corporations. Sending money abroad to support jobs in other countries while continuing to ignore problems facing the American wind industry is simply bad policy.

To date, I do not believe the use of stimulus funds to support wind projects in the U.S. has met the promises of substantial job creation and clean renewable energy. With these and other federal funds, we must make wise investments in the American people by weighing the job and energy creation prospects of each proposal. Quite simply, the potential benefits offered by a project should be commensurate with the size of the investment. I am not convinced that this is the case right now.

While it is true that these funds are used only to support American-based projects, the development corporations and the suppliers involved are, more often than not, headquartered outside of the U.S. This means that ultimately, a large portion of the nearly $2 billion invested in wind projects through the ARRA will go directly to supporting foreign businesses that compete with American workers. The stimulus package was meant to bolster American productivity, not hand over control of an entire industry to other countries, including China.

Instead of dumping billions of dollars into so many wind projects that support very few domestic jobs and produce limited energy benefits, while propping-up foreign industries at the expense of U.S. taxpayers, I believe your Administration should focus on addressing the underlying problems of the American wind industry. If we are to have successful American wind energy development, we must have an industry built by American workers that supply real energy to American homes and reduce our dependence on dirty fossil fuels. I believe it is necessary to slow down the wildly haphazard "progress" in wind power development which is having a destructive impact on many small communities. We need to address these and many other concerns because frankly, the current policy is not working.

As it stands now and as it has been proven by stimulus investments in wind power, our nation is dangerously reliant on foreign wind corporations. As with so many other industries, we have been surpassed by our foreign competitors in the wind sector. Even worse, now we are funding them. This is entirely wrong.

Moving forward, we must take a critical look into the American wind industry that we see today and develop comprehensive, long-term plans that address the many serious issues facing wind power in this country. The goal must be to use wise investments in this energy source to safely, responsibly, and effectively create clean energy while also establishing strong manufacturing and construction sectors that will build a truly American industry supported by American jobs.

Eric JJ. Massa Member of Congress

Cc: Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy

More Opposition to NYS Offshore Wind Turbines

The following published in the 2/9/2010 Watertown Daily Times

Opponents organizing to fight wind plans

Credit: By Nancy Madsen, Times Staff Writer, Watertown Daily Times,

Legislators and other officials from Jefferson and Oswego counties will begin mounting opposition to New York Power Authority’s proposal to put 500 megawatts of wind energy development in Lake Ontario.

Jefferson County Legislature Chairman Kenneth D. Blankenbush, R-Black River, said they first will find out more about the proposal and then organize to oppose a widespread project.

The Board of Legislators voted to approve the Galloo Island Wind Farm payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement Feb. 2, which helped pave the way for that 252-megawatt project.

“Having them on an island is one thing, but scattered along the shoreline is totally different,” Mr. Blankenbush said.

NYPA asked developers in December to submit proposals to build up to 500 megawatts of wind power, possibly spread out over several potential sites, including 10 sites in Lake Ontario and 13 sites in Lake Erie. Those sites were chosen in part because they have average wind speeds of at least 16.8 mph, have water depths of less than 150 feet and lie 2.3 miles or farther offshore.

One site spreads from Galloo Island north to Grenadier Island and another stretches from Galloo Island south along the eastern shore in Oswego County.

“We’ll figure out what we can do and listen to what is the project they’re talking about,” Mr. Blankenbush said. “But what I’ve heard, I don’t like.”

NYPA’s proposal energized local opposition to wind power and helped the Coalition for the Preservation of the Golden Crescent and Thousand Islands Region to coalesce. Legislator Barry M. Ormsby, R-Belleville, organized the first meeting for Thursday night in Henderson Harbor.

“We will get something organized,” Mr. Ormsby said. “We’ll know how to strategize moving forward.”

He expects another meeting with NYPA officials soon. The deadline for a project proposal from a developer is June 1. NYPA will contract with the operator to buy all of the power from the wind farm or farms through long-term power purchase agreements.