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Weighing Renewable Energy Options
by
Frank J. Regan
I wonder how we can resolve the conundrum that while renewable
energy can help resolve the world-wide accumulation of manmade global warming
gases, few want wind farms near them. Most people like the idea of windmills
added to our power grid, providing us with a non-polluting energy source--until
it threatens their area. So, how can it happen? I don't remember anyone having
a choice about a hydro-electric dam stopping up their river or a coal-burning
power plant, which pollutes the air with particulates, too much carbon dioxide,
and mercury. I don't remember community groups getting up in arms about a far
more insidious form of energy--nuclear power.
But, it seems every time a community is faced with having a
windmill farm near them, they get up in arms about how it will change the
aesthetics of their landscape, or the blades falling off, or ice coming off,
bird and bats kills, or the flicker effect, or the noise, or something. This is
strange because residents near nuclear or coal-burning power plants have, in all
probability, far graver health and environmental problems than those who live
near a windmill. Moreover, in our area we presently get 25% of our energy from
Russell Station (rated as one of the dirtiest coal-burning plants in the
country), which means that those who are fighting against wind power in their
area are probably doing so while enjoying energy supplied by a very polluting
energy source.
In my opinion, I think we are condemned to hitch our future on
the horrific nature of oil (war and pollution) and nuclear energy (in which the
problems at Yucca Mountain highlight just how impossible it is going to be to
deal with spent fuel rods) unless we find a solution to creating wind farms,
which are the only quick, viable energy alternatives to our tremendous increase
in energy needs. There are other forms of renewable energy sources --solar,
geothermic, etc.—and conservation plans, but none can at this time complete with
dirty oil and gas.
What concerns me too is that the argument that our country (we
burn 25% of the oil in the world for energy) needs to find energy alternatives
is not being heard in small, rural communities. It seems to me that if given a
choice communities will always choose not to have large windmill near them.
What about the argument that rural New Yorkers have a significant resource here
(lots of wind) which means that we have an opportunity to give something back to
the country and to the planet--even if it means compromising some of our
previously pristine views of what constitutes our environment?
Part of the problem is that the complete ledger of what is
involved in the energy problem has not been accurately described in our media.
Editors and reporters in our major media, who determine just what objective
environmental reporting is, seem to be incapable of adequately weighing
environmental problems, especially the arguments for and against windmills. In
short, the arguments about birds, bats, and the flicker effect from windmills
pale against a planet warming up. If we don’t get this profound discrepancy,
we’re cooked. For example, Russell Station is gearing up for a major change and
burning coal again (albeit cleaner ((but how clean?)) is not off the table.
Where’s local media attention? Where’s public concern?
If we do not use wind farms, which are the only viable
large-scale renewable energy sources at this date, we will be forced to continue
to use out-dated coal-powered plants and dangerous nuclear plants for
electricity. That means extensive air pollution, global warming gases, and
mercury contamination--which is why we cannot eat fish in any quantity in the
Eastern United States. Nuclear power is too dangerous and the waste issue cannot
be addressed rationally. And the problem of creating a single site for spent
nuclear waste does not even address the serious problem of transporting that
waste across our roads and through our cities that nobody even talks about.
Remember, environmental issues are totally different that any
other issue. As Carl Sagan said, "If you cannot drink the water, or breathe the
air, anything else you want to do is not going to happen." At this point in
time, only wind farms can quickly reduce our dependence on dangerous and
polluting, and greenhouse-gas-producing energy sources. Conservation is an
important component of our future energy equation, but proportionally very few
are interested in doing with less energy. Most just aren’t going to do it. And,
if everyone is dead set against having a windmill near their homes, how will we
solve our energy problems?
Wind
Power Events and Events Around NYS. --from New York Wind Power Education
Project. "To: NYS community, civic, and community organizations — There are many
opportunities to learn about and discuss wind power in the next several weeks.
Please consider attending these events and publicizing them to your membership.
Also: The various regional planning councils in New York State have launched a
program to help municipalities address wind power development. This effort,
coordinated by the Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council, is described
at:
http://www.gflrpc.org/AboutTheCouncil/Newsletter/fall06.pdf -- About The NY
Wind Power Education Project The NY Wind Power Education Project is a
collaborative effort of the Pace Law School Energy Project, Citizens Campaign
for the Environment, and NYPIRG to increase the public's understanding of wind
power issues, including its environmental benefits, in the belief that a better
informed public can participate more meaningfully in the environmental review
process and other public discussions surrounding proposed wind facilities. Twice
per month, the NY Wind Power Education Project will distribute this email
bulletin on wind energy issues and events around New York State. If you would
like to forward announcements for possible inclusion in the WPEP Bulletins,
simply email Anne Reynolds,
areynolds@law.pace.edu . (The same address should be used if you wish to be
added or removed from the list.)
Power Naturally -
"Power...NaturallySM has been developed as a logo or brand for all of
NYSERDA's renewable energy programs. Most of NYSERDA's renewable energy
initiatives are part of the New York Energy $martSM program, which is
designed to support certain public-benefit programs during the transition to
a more competitive electricity market."
Utlity Scale - Large Wind
NYPIRG
Fuel Buyers Group: Wind Power NYPIRG has made it easy
for New Yorkers to purchase wind power. We’ve teamed up with
Community Energy, Inc. (CEI), a marketer of 100% New Wind
Energy that’s generated in New York State. --from
NYPIRG
Get an idea of present and planned wind
power project for New York State at:
New York State Wind Energy
Projects
Online articles on
wind power:
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Offshore wind
power project will make Ontario a global leader – Daily Commercial News
Construction challenges posed by Ontario’s largest offshore wind development
are an opportunity to harness building expertise in this area, says the
project’s president. “A signature project like ours will help put Ontario
into the global sphere of renewable energy,” says John Kourtoff, Trillium
Power president and chief administrative officer. “There is an opportunity
to not just set up a construction and supply chain for North America but it
could help Europe as well.” (Jan 28, 08)
Daily Commercial News –
Reporting on the Canadian Construction Industry since 1927
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Some looking to wind to restrain energy costs
— Wind turbines are being considered on a small scale in various towns.-
(June 25, 2007)
Democrat & Chronicle
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Wound
Up Over Windmills - "Upstate
New Yorkers are up in arms about widespread plans to install wind farms. In
some cases, they're fighting the green power plants with scare tactics more
often associated with the anti-nuclear lobby. The whole state of New York is
experiencing such a serious power crunch that Gov. George Pataki has taken
drastic measures to help combat energy-supply problems and decrease the
Empire State's ecological footprint."
from Wired News: Top
Stories
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TheStar.com
- City to test wind farm City to test wind farm
Could an offshore wind farm help solve the city's power shortage? Toronto
Hydro will test out the idea this spring -
Someday in the not-too-distant future,
Torontonians may be able to stand on the Scarborough Bluffs and see as many
as 30 big wind turbines turning, two kilometres out in the waters of Lake
Ontario. Toronto Hydro plans to start testing the lake winds this spring,
setting up a tower to support an anemometer — a device that measures wind
speed. If the results are favourable, the company will consider building a
60-megawatt wind farm offshore — enough electricity to power 20,000 homes.
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Tilting at Windmills
Local Environmentalism is
Undermining One of Our Best Options for Slowing Global
Warming - by Bill McKibben
- "Finally, American
environmentalists have a chance to get it right about wind
power. News broke this week of plans for the first big
wind energy installation in the Adirondack Park. Ten
towering turbines would sprout on the site of an old
garnet mine in this tiny town. They'd be visible from the
ski slopes at nearby Gore Mountain, and they'd be visible
too from the deep wild of the Siamese Ponds Wilderness,
one of the loneliest and most beautiful parts of New
York's "forever wild" Adirondack Forest Preserve, the
model for a century of American conservation. In fact, it
would be hard to imagine a place better suited to
illustrate the controversy that wind power is causing in
this country."
--from
Common Dreams | News
& Views
- Windmills
of controversy -- timesunion.com -
The benefits of generating green power in
the Adirondacks outweigh the drawbacks
- First published: Sunday, May 22, 2005
- If there's one topic on which
environmentalists are likely to agree, it's the promise of
so-called green power. Indeed, when Gov. Pataki proposed
to have New York use renewable sources, such as wind and
solar, to generate 25 percent of the state's energy needs,
the environmental community was quick to applaud him.
Albany, N.Y. -- timesunion.com
- Wind
Energy Part of a Sustainable Future -May 11, 2005 — By
Dr. David Suzuki, an op/ed - Recently, I wrote an
editorial in New Scientist magazine about the
"not-in-my-backyard" approach some people and groups have
adopted in regards to wind farms. It caused quite a fuss.
ENN: Environmental News
Network
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Windmills
in New York State: Read two Essays from the
Democrat and Chronicle:
Essay #1
Wind farms would mar N.Y. landscape - By
Tom Golisano - (June 9, 2005) —
As upstate New Yorkers, we are very fortunate to live in
an area with numerous clean, beautiful lakes and miles of
pristine, rolling countryside. Many of us take advantage
of these magnificent surroundings in a variety of ways: as
nature lovers, hikers, campers, hunters, property and
business owners, to name a few. Something is being planned
that will take away much of what we enjoy about our Finger
Lakes region. That something is called "green power," in
the form of the planned construction of dozens of wind
farms. --Essay #2:
Renewable power worth a sacrifice - By Bob
Siegel - (June 9, 2005) — Many
property owners in Springwater, Prattsburgh and elsewhere
are questioning the wisdom of siting wind generators in
such a picturesque region. Some feel that the scenic and
rural quality of their towns will be endangered by these
large machines. The Sierra Club is sympathetic to these
concerns and believes that developers and officials need
to listen carefully to the underlying issues. Were it not
for the backdrop against which these concerns must be
viewed, we would be supporting these citizens in their
struggle. However, a much deeper threat to the future of
our region and our planet compels us to urge people to
approach these projects with an open mind. We are
experiencing an unprecedented rate of climate change due
to the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Massive
killer heat waves, flooding, wildfires, acidification of
oceans and lakes, migration of plant and animal species to
cooler regions that leads to crop failures and widespread
increases in infectious tropical diseases such as malaria
and West Nile virus are now with us. Left unchecked, these
will get much worse.
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The
call of the wild
CROSS RIVER — As a boy in Belfast, Danny Martin hiked the
hills of Black Mountain that sheltered his home in
Northern Ireland's capital. At that height, where the
lapwings and the curlews made their nests, he would lie in
the heather and feel such harmony with the heavens, he
recalls, that it was like receiving Communion at early
morning Mass. Now, as a 58-year-old man in America, Martin
still pursues the panorama near his home at the Ward Pound
Ridge Reservation — where hawks ascend on thermal winds
and again bring him eye to eye with the ethereal.
--THE
JOURNAL NEWS
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New York State Board on
Electric Generation Siting and the Environment "Article X expired
January 1, 2003. After that date, electric generating project developers
must obtain all appropriate local and state permits and approvals, and
undergo environmental review subject to the State Environmental Quality
Review Act (Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law). Project
developers (if it is an electric corporation as defined in Section 2(13) of
the Public Service Law) must also obtain a certificate of public convenience
and necessity (CPCN), pursuant to Section 68 of the Public Service Law."
News
about wind generators around Rochester
(Please note, links below open in a new window)
Wind Farm Resources:
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Wind-Works
by Paul Gipe An on-line archive of articles and
commentary primarily--but not solely--on wind energy.
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EERE:
Wind Energy Wind Energy Topics - Wind energy uses the
energy in the wind for practical purposes like generating
electricity, charging batteries, pumping water, or
grinding grain. Large, modern wind turbines operate
together in wind farms to produce electricity for
utilities. Small turbines are used by homeowners and
remote villages to help meet energy needs. -- from
U.S. DOE Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- BWEA
- The UK's leading renewable energy association
The British Wind Energy Association is the trade and
professional body for the UK wind industry. Formed over 26
years ago, and with over 310 corporate members, BWEA is
the largest renewable energy trade association in the UK.
Wind has been the world's fastest growing renewable energy
source for the last seven years, and this trend is
expected to continue with falling costs of wind energy and
the urgent international need to tackle CO2 emissions to
prevent climate change. Our primary purpose is to promote
the use of wind power in and around the UK, both onshore
and offshore. We act as a central point for information
for our membership and as a lobbying group to promote wind
energy to government. We research and find solution to
current issues and generally act as the forum for the UK
wind industry. We have a professional staff of twelve at
our Islington offices and an annual turnover in excess of
one million pounds.
- American
Wind Energy Association . . . Clean Energy for our
Environment and Economy The American Wind
Energy Association (AWEATM) promotes wind energy as a
clean source of electricity for consumers around the
world. AWEA is a national trade association that
represents wind power plant developers, wind turbine
manufacturers, utilities, consultants, insurers,
financiers, researchers, and others involved in the wind
industry -- one of the world's fastest growing energy
industries. In addition, AWEA represents hundreds of wind
energy advocates from around the world.
- Photographs
of Buffalo New York, Western New York Windmills There
are new windmills for power generation on top of a hill
near Java, New York - 35 minutes southeast of Buffalo.
They are about 100 feet tall. The first photo is from
about 5 miles away, so you get an idea of how big they
are.
- REPP:
WIND --Renewable Energy Policy Project - REPP's goal
is to accelerate the use of renewable energy by providing
credible information, insightful policy analysis, and
innovative strategies amid changing energy markets and
mounting environmental needs by researching, publishing,
and disseminating information, creating policy tools, and
hosting highly active, on-line, renewable energy
discussion groups.
- Canadian
Wind Energy Association Wind is the fastest
growing source of electricity in the world. Across Canada,
electricity generated from wind is powering homes and
businesses in a clean, reliable and efficient manner.
The Canadian Wind Energy Association supports the
appropriate development of wind energy in Canada. Our goal
is to encourage investment in wind energy for 10,000 MW by
2010, providing 5% of Canada’s electricity.
- NREL:
National Wind Technology Center The National
Wind Technology Center, located at the foot of the Rocky
Mountains near Boulder, Colorado, is a world-class
research facility managed by the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy. NWTC
researchers work with members of the wind energy industry
to advance wind power technologies that lower the cost of
wind energy through research and development of
state-of-the-art wind turbine designs.
- Windpower
Monthly News Magazine: Windpower Monthly is the
world's leading wind energy news magazine -- a uniquely
independent information source on the world's fastest
growing renewable. Articles on political, industrial,
environmental and technical developments in the global
wind energy arena. National news updates which analyse,
inform and put the news in focus reported in every issue,
along with regular charting of market forces, thought
provoking editorials and incisive analyses of business and
economic trends. In short, critical and agenda-setting
journalism.
- New Wind Energy
New Wind Energy™ from Community Energy, Inc. is electricity supplied from
newly developed wind resources. New wind turbines are the fastest growing and
most cost-effective renewable energy technology, producing electricity with no
fuel and no pollution. Community Energy, Inc. was formed by people committed
to protecting our environment, and to the development and promotion of NEW
clean, renewable energy. Community Energy, Inc., brought the first commercial
wind turbines online in Pennsylvania in December 1999, and is currently
working to bring the largest wind farm east of the Mississippi online in 2002.
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Small Wind in New York This page provides information specific to public
policies, incentive programs, wind resources, and organizational resources
for installing and operating a small wind turbine in New York.
- The Alliance for Clean
Energy New York's mission is to promote the use of clean, renewable
electricity technologies and energy efficiency in New York State, in order
to increase energy diversity and security, boost economic development,
improve public health, and reduce air pollution.
- Northeast Sustainable
Energy Association The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA)
is the Northeast’s leading organization of professionals and concerned
citizens working in sustainable energy and whole systems thinking. NESEA
facilitates the widespread adoption and use of sustainable energy by
providing support to industry professionals and by educating and motivating
consumers to learn about, ask for, and adopt sustainable energy and green
building practices. NESEA accomplishes this through its Building Energy
conference and trade show, K-12 resources, an advocacy network, high profile
public events such as the Tour de Sol and the Green Building Open House, its
chapters and members, and its Sustainable Yellow Pages.
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Town of Hamlin/Wind Towers:
This page is dedicated to news and information regarding the possible
development of large-scale wind-energy generation systems in the Town of
Hamlin
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Maple Ridge Wind Farm : Tug Hill,
New York "Tug Hill is in many respects the ideal location for New York's
largest wind energy project. This site consists of approximately 12,000
acres of hilltop pasture and feed-crop land at an average elevation of
1600-1800 feet. Tug Hill is an ancient geologic formation that lies just
downwind of the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, separated from the
Adirondacks to the east by the Black River Valley. At a maximum elevation of
2000 feet above sea level, the Tug Hill plateau experiences strong
lake-effect weather patterns and has long been known for its exceptional
wind resource."
-
Clean Energy States Alliance
Eighteen states across the U.S. with established clean energy funds or
programs have banded together to promote clean energy technologies. The
Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) is a nonprofit organization comprised of
members from 16 clean energy funds and two state agencies; it provides
information and technical services to its members and works with them to
build and expand clean energy markets in the United States.
Groups forming to oppose wind
farms in our area:
- Save Western NY
Save Western NY is a voluntary association of residents and property owners
in the Town of Wethersfield. The group was formed in response to concerns
about a proposal by Noble Environmental Power, LLC to install 67-70 wind
turbines nearly 400 feet tall, lighted 24 hours a day, in the township.
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Living In New York | Real discussion and facts on Wind Power Proposals
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Prattsburg/Italy
Wind Turbine Information
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South
Bristol Views Wind Mills1 05/02
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Springwater
Preservation Committee We believe the
great natural beauty of Springwater is our town’s greatest
asset for future residential and recreational development.
Please join us in our effort to stop the proposed Bishop
Wind Farm and preserve the future of Springwater.
- Cohocton Wind
Watch Cohocton Wind Watch is a community citizen organization dedicated
to preserve the public safety, property values, economic viability,
environmental integrity and quality of life in Cohocton, NY and in
surrounding townships. Neighbors committed to public service in order to
achieve a reasonable vision for a Finger Lakes region worthy of future
generations.
- Silver
Lake, New York Wind Turbine Proposal
- Bethany
Preservation Group | Bethany Preservation Group
- Hamlin
Preservation Group | Hamlin Preservation Group
- CRED "CRED’s mission
is to ensure that citizens have a voice in energy decisions, decisions that
affect our lives, finances and quality of life. We expect access and input
to these decisions and further expect that these decisions be made in an
‘open’ manner. "
Groups forming to
approve wind farms in our area.
- Yes! Wind
Power for Cohocton Yes! Wind Power for Cohocton is a group of concerned
citizens who support the UPC Wind Turbine Project proposed for our
community. We are dedicated to presenting the truth and offering dialogue in
order to provide the best information and considerations for our citizens
and our community.
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Advocates for Prattsburgh Our position is not against wind power, but
against the inappropriate siting of these industrial wind towers.
- Citizens
for Wind Energy - Perry, NY It is our purpose to enjoin members of the
public to support wind generated turbines through positive communication
regarding the benefits of wind energy.
- Wind Energy
News "Global warming from CO2 is a problem faced by all on our planet
earth.Wind Energy is a vast resource that will greatly reduce the impact of
burning fossil fuels. Converting as little as 20 percent of potential wind
energy to electricity could satisfy the entirety of the world's energy
demands. Wind energy is growing fast for the following reasons: it is
abundant, cheap, inexhaustible, widely distributed, clean and climate
benign. No other energy source has this combination of attributes."
- Alternative
Energy Task Force of Wayne County
- Maple Ridge Wind
Farm : Tug Hill, New York "Why Tug Hill? Tug Hill is in many respects
the ideal location for New York's largest wind energy project. This site
consists of approximately 12,000 acres of hilltop pasture and feed-crop land
at an average elevation of 1600-1800 feet. Tug Hill is an ancient geologic
formation that lies just downwind of the eastern shore of Lake Ontario,
separated from the Adirondacks to the east by the Black River Valley. At a
maximum elevation of 2000 feet above sea level, the Tug Hill plateau
experiences strong lake-effect weather patterns and has long been known for
its exceptional wind resource."
- Wind Action Group
" Education - Develop information that will allow thoughtful, informed
decisions on the future of wind power in our region, and offer an
opportunity for all interested individuals and groups to fully express and
explore their concerns; and Advocacy - Investigate issues relevant to
developing wind energy in WNY, and advocate for and promote ways of
developing Buffalo Niagara’s wind resource that maximize the benefits to the
public. The Wind Action Group was formed by Buffalo's Green Gold Development
Corporation, in collaboration with Erie County, and a number of other public
and private organizations, based on a recommendation from Wind Energy
Initiatives for Greater Buffalo. This study was produced by Masters of
UrbanPlanning students under Dr. Ernest Sternberg of the UB School
ofArchitecture & Planning."
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