Watertown Daily Times
31 March 2007
CAPE VINCENT — A citizens group opposed to a proposed wind farm here has mounted a legal challenge to the town’s determination that the project qualifies as a utility under zoning law.
Wind Power Ethics Group filed an Article 78 petition Wednesday in state Supreme Court against the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals and St. Lawrence Windpower LLC, the developer of the proposed 97-turbine project.
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Saturday, March 31, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
~ Paving Paradise ~ NNY Follies ~ Wolfe Island~
23 March 2007
Next week, Canadian Hydro will sponsor two public hearings to discuss a plan to construct 86 windmills on Wolfe Island. The 200-megawatt project will feed Ontario’s electric grid, from towers located across the west end of Wolfe Island.
For the geographically challenged or those who don’t have much opportunity to visit the Cape Vincent area, Wolfe Island is across a narrow channel of the St. Lawrence River from Cape Vincent; the ferry runs from the southeast corner of the island to the Cape. The island is clearly visible from Cape Vincent to Tibbets Point, and most of the towers will be clearly visible as well.
I mention this because, with the wind farm or farms proposed for Cape Vincent and Clayton, if the Canadian Hydro project goes through, the St.Lawrence River valley and eastern Lake Ontario will almost overnight become the site of as many as 350 windmills.
There are fewer than 200 towers in the Maple Ridge project on Tug Hill, and that project dominates the horizon from Turin to past Copenhagen. Along the river, wind farms could dominate the horizon from Fishers Landing to, well, to well out into Lake Ontario.
I have a great deal of ambivalence about the prospects of turning the lake and river area into a giant wind farm. I do believe that green power is important — the renewable, natural nature of wind-generated power has to be superior to burning coal or natural gas or splitting atoms. And yet…the number of windmills it takes to produce enough power to make a wind farm economically viable means that no working wind farm can ever be inobtrusive. Despite what some of my Cape Vincent critics blindly maintain, the aesthetic enjoyment of an area with such breathtaking natural beauty as the Thousand Islands region has significant value and it should be protected.
It seems to me that the dual “economic development” goals of some people along the river are mutually exclusive; you cannot on the one hand push a massive wind farm as a major economic asset and also continue to pursue with abandon tourism dollars. Some — perhaps many — people will be put off by the sight of the towers relentlessly marching along the river to the extent that they will not find the natural beauty they came to enjoy. And they won’t come back. (And believe me, when the initial awe of wind towers wears off, they aren’t going to draw any tourists here.)
Sometimes, man acts with foresight and wisdom. Mostly, though, my experience is that foresight is in extremely short supply. As Joni Mitchell pointed out, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone?” It seems that folks along the river are hell bent on paving paradise and putting in a tower lot. They don’t seem willing to consider that once paradise is gone, it just never comes back.
posted by Kentsboss
nnyfollies
23 March 2007
Next week, Canadian Hydro will sponsor two public hearings to discuss a plan to construct 86 windmills on Wolfe Island. The 200-megawatt project will feed Ontario’s electric grid, from towers located across the west end of Wolfe Island.
For the geographically challenged or those who don’t have much opportunity to visit the Cape Vincent area, Wolfe Island is across a narrow channel of the St. Lawrence River from Cape Vincent; the ferry runs from the southeast corner of the island to the Cape. The island is clearly visible from Cape Vincent to Tibbets Point, and most of the towers will be clearly visible as well.
I mention this because, with the wind farm or farms proposed for Cape Vincent and Clayton, if the Canadian Hydro project goes through, the St.Lawrence River valley and eastern Lake Ontario will almost overnight become the site of as many as 350 windmills.
There are fewer than 200 towers in the Maple Ridge project on Tug Hill, and that project dominates the horizon from Turin to past Copenhagen. Along the river, wind farms could dominate the horizon from Fishers Landing to, well, to well out into Lake Ontario.
I have a great deal of ambivalence about the prospects of turning the lake and river area into a giant wind farm. I do believe that green power is important — the renewable, natural nature of wind-generated power has to be superior to burning coal or natural gas or splitting atoms. And yet…the number of windmills it takes to produce enough power to make a wind farm economically viable means that no working wind farm can ever be inobtrusive. Despite what some of my Cape Vincent critics blindly maintain, the aesthetic enjoyment of an area with such breathtaking natural beauty as the Thousand Islands region has significant value and it should be protected.
It seems to me that the dual “economic development” goals of some people along the river are mutually exclusive; you cannot on the one hand push a massive wind farm as a major economic asset and also continue to pursue with abandon tourism dollars. Some — perhaps many — people will be put off by the sight of the towers relentlessly marching along the river to the extent that they will not find the natural beauty they came to enjoy. And they won’t come back. (And believe me, when the initial awe of wind towers wears off, they aren’t going to draw any tourists here.)
Sometimes, man acts with foresight and wisdom. Mostly, though, my experience is that foresight is in extremely short supply. As Joni Mitchell pointed out, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone?” It seems that folks along the river are hell bent on paving paradise and putting in a tower lot. They don’t seem willing to consider that once paradise is gone, it just never comes back.
posted by Kentsboss
nnyfollies
23 March 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
2007~ NNY Follies ~ Breathing room ~ Lyme Moratorium ~
One man’s blessing may be another’s curse. It appears that the border between the towns of Lyme and Cape Vincent may be pointing that out, as the town of Lyme is on the verge of enacting a six-month moratorium on wind farm development to give town officials time to study the ramifications and effects of allowing giant towers and turbines in the community.
If the moratorium is enacted, it could significantly slow down BP Alternative Energy’s proposed two-town wind farm project, much to the consternation of many people in Cape Vincent who have leapt upon the wind power bandwagon without checking for a safety net. This immediately sets them apart from both Clayton and Lyme, where municipal officials have decided to at least take a breath before enthusiastically endorsing the power projects.
A moratorium is not a death sentence for any reasonably proposed wind project; it is merely a way for a municipality to have the time to decide just what controls they need to institute on this invasive land use. It is a reasonable and fairly common response to new proposals, and has been used for such things as establishing a permit process for outdoor furnaces and other invasive uses that from time to time crop up.
The residents of Lyme will be well-served by this moratorium, should the Town Council enact it. For one thing, they will have a reasonable amount of time to study the issue to see if wind farms in general are appropriate for their community. For another, it will allow the council time to decide what controls, if any, they wish to place on wind farm development. They may, for example, wish to establish zones where wind farms are not appropriate ““ Lyme’s many miles of lake shore leap immediately to mind, but there could be many places where the community doesn’t want the towers to be placed. The council may also wish to limit density or place controls on environmental impacts such as noise. All of these issues are important, and all need time for study. Six months, in fact, may not be enough ““ but the town council could extend the moratorium if it deems more study is needed.
A question that will no doubt be asked is why, if Cape Vincent is willing to dive into wind farms without so much as a serious question, should Lyme take this step. I would answer that with another question: Why did Cape Vincent officials not care enough about carefully studying a monumental, irrevocable decision to step back and allow itself time enough to do so?
A cynic might suggest that the difference between Cape Vincent and its neighboring communities is chiefly that none of those officials in Lyme and Clayton allowed themselves to be blinded by the almighty dollar, or placed in a compromising position by accepting wind farm money before the issue even came before them. I am a cynic.
Lyme is doing the right thing if it enacts this moratorium. It does not preclude wind farm development, it just lets the community get in front of the issue, instead of staring at the taillights of a development company that has bulldozed its way through the community, planning process be damned.
posted by Kentsboss
nnyfollies.blogspot.com
15 March 2007
If the moratorium is enacted, it could significantly slow down BP Alternative Energy’s proposed two-town wind farm project, much to the consternation of many people in Cape Vincent who have leapt upon the wind power bandwagon without checking for a safety net. This immediately sets them apart from both Clayton and Lyme, where municipal officials have decided to at least take a breath before enthusiastically endorsing the power projects.
A moratorium is not a death sentence for any reasonably proposed wind project; it is merely a way for a municipality to have the time to decide just what controls they need to institute on this invasive land use. It is a reasonable and fairly common response to new proposals, and has been used for such things as establishing a permit process for outdoor furnaces and other invasive uses that from time to time crop up.
The residents of Lyme will be well-served by this moratorium, should the Town Council enact it. For one thing, they will have a reasonable amount of time to study the issue to see if wind farms in general are appropriate for their community. For another, it will allow the council time to decide what controls, if any, they wish to place on wind farm development. They may, for example, wish to establish zones where wind farms are not appropriate ““ Lyme’s many miles of lake shore leap immediately to mind, but there could be many places where the community doesn’t want the towers to be placed. The council may also wish to limit density or place controls on environmental impacts such as noise. All of these issues are important, and all need time for study. Six months, in fact, may not be enough ““ but the town council could extend the moratorium if it deems more study is needed.
A question that will no doubt be asked is why, if Cape Vincent is willing to dive into wind farms without so much as a serious question, should Lyme take this step. I would answer that with another question: Why did Cape Vincent officials not care enough about carefully studying a monumental, irrevocable decision to step back and allow itself time enough to do so?
A cynic might suggest that the difference between Cape Vincent and its neighboring communities is chiefly that none of those officials in Lyme and Clayton allowed themselves to be blinded by the almighty dollar, or placed in a compromising position by accepting wind farm money before the issue even came before them. I am a cynic.
Lyme is doing the right thing if it enacts this moratorium. It does not preclude wind farm development, it just lets the community get in front of the issue, instead of staring at the taillights of a development company that has bulldozed its way through the community, planning process be damned.
posted by Kentsboss
nnyfollies.blogspot.com
15 March 2007
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Lyme to windmills: Not so fast
Link not available~
wwnytv.net
14 March 2007
The Lyme town board wants a six month moratorium on windmill construction in the town.
Meeting Wednesday night, board members said they need time to draft zoning rules.
A public hearing on the windmill issue will be held at the end of the month.
Three windmill companies have expressed interest in setting up windfarms in Lyme.
“Things are moving a little too fast,” said town council member Norman Schreib.
“The town board decided we want to slow things down to give time to evaluate what’s going on.”
However, board members emphasized they are not anti-windmill.
wwnytv.net
14 March 2007
wwnytv.net
14 March 2007
The Lyme town board wants a six month moratorium on windmill construction in the town.
Meeting Wednesday night, board members said they need time to draft zoning rules.
A public hearing on the windmill issue will be held at the end of the month.
Three windmill companies have expressed interest in setting up windfarms in Lyme.
“Things are moving a little too fast,” said town council member Norman Schreib.
“The town board decided we want to slow things down to give time to evaluate what’s going on.”
However, board members emphasized they are not anti-windmill.
wwnytv.net
14 March 2007
Lyme May Want Own Study of Wind farm
By Kelly Vadney
Watertown Daily Times
03/14/2007
The immediate future of BP Alternative Energy’s proposed Cape Vincent Wind Farm may hinge on what transpires at the Lyme Town Council’s meeting today.
The issue is whether Cape Vincent will supervise the entire environmental review for the proposed 210-megawatt wind farm project, which crosses town lines, or if the Lyme Town Council will opt for a separate environmental review for the portion in Lyme. That could slow development of the wind farm.
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Watertown Daily Times
03/14/2007
The immediate future of BP Alternative Energy’s proposed Cape Vincent Wind Farm may hinge on what transpires at the Lyme Town Council’s meeting today.
The issue is whether Cape Vincent will supervise the entire environmental review for the proposed 210-megawatt wind farm project, which crosses town lines, or if the Lyme Town Council will opt for a separate environmental review for the portion in Lyme. That could slow development of the wind farm.
[Continue via the WDT archives]
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