Study a road map for Henderson's future~

THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2010

link--> here<-- Last fall, the Henderson Town Council appointed the Citizens Committee to review last July's Article IX proposal on wind generation facilities in the town and make recommendations to the board. This was no easy feat. The Citizens Committee, made up of five local residents, put in thousands of hours of research, meetings, travel to Northern New York communities and other preparation for their report. After six months of exhaustive work, the committee on April 23 presented their findings to the town board. This report is essentially a road map for the future of industrial wind development in the town of Henderson — a road map for the future of Henderson itself. One cannot guess what the community would be like if much of it is immersed in turbines. Take a trip to Lowville, a beautiful community immersed in history and Victorian homes. There is nowhere one can look without seeing turbines. The committee's efforts looked at visual, economic and health effects to come up with their conclusions. They spoke to groups and officials in other Northern New York communities, scientific experts and researched how this affects real people. Their findings are the insurance citizens of Henderson need to preserve our community. Preservation of our community is the destination. The town board is the driver of the vehicle. If they take us down the wrong road, the beauty and tranquility we know will be forever lost. The economy in Henderson will lose, property owners will see their values drop, tourism will drop. The total sum of this type of development will be devastating. Please write to your town board in support of the Citizens' Committee findings. Go to board meetings. Help preserve Henderson. We don't want this town board to take us down the wrong road to a place where we can never come back. This report is available at the Henderson town board website, http://www.townofhendersonny.org/, search for "citizens committee."

Margaret Golovey

Henderson

The writer is president of the Heart of Henderson, Inc.

SCHOMER RESPONDS TO HESSLERS PRESENTATION ~ BY ~ LETTER TO TOWN SUPERVISOR ~

Schomer and Associates sent this letter to Cape Vincent Town Supervisor,
in response to the April 14, 2010 sound presentation, given at recreation park, by Hessler. Hessler’s presentation was sponsored by Acciona, the Mother company of Cape Vincent’s proposed St. Lawrence industrial wind project.

Towers, towers everywhere ~ WDT ~ Editorial

Towers, towers everywhere
SUNDAY, APRIL 18, 2010

The news last week that the Ontario Power Authority has awarded a contract for a 300-megawatt wind farm in the shallow Lake Ontario waters west of Wolfe Island further complicates the work of Cape Vincent and Clayton and Lyme municipal governments that are already struggling to determine how to treat commercial wind proposals in their towns.

Wind Stream Wolfe Island Shoals Inc. is owned by the same developers who built the Wolfe Island wind farm. That 86-windmill farm could be dwarfed by the new proposal; a 300-megawatt farm using generators of 1.6- to 2-megawatt capacity could add between 150 and 187 new towers to a Thousand Islands landscape that is already pretty full when you look north.

Lyme wind foes make false survey claims

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2010

I feel compelled to write in response to recent letters by Scott Discount and Bert Bowers, which accuse town of Lyme Supervisor Scott Aubertine of being unethical. Wind opponents continue to refer to the flawed survey conducted by the Planning Board in 2007 to assert that the majority of residents of Lyme "clearly" objected to any wind development.

I, and others, have reviewed every one of the 900-plus responses to the survey. The majority were in favor of development in the town of Lyme. I would like to highlight some interesting facts about the survey but will not reiterate all of the specifics that Scott Aubertine made in his blog on his Web site, www.scottaurbertine.zoomshare.com.

[Watertown Times]

Acciona Uses Wrong approach Editorial

Wind developer should open meetings
FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2010
Acciona Wind Energy USA has a strange way of reaching out to the public. They'll do it behind closed doors.

The developer of St. Lawrence Wind Farm in Cape Vincent plans to set up a community relations group of 10 to 15 town and county officials as well as residents on both sides of the issue to provide a variety of viewpoints.

Project Manager Peter E. Zedick said it will help them share "all the information we can with the community." They expect to meet next month with several other meetings planned this year under the direction of a moderator from Jefferson Community College's Center for Community Center.

But there's a catch.

The meetings will be secret. They will be closed to the public, which will have to rely on minutes or secondhand reports of what was discussed. Such closed-door arrangements do little to gain public trust or confidence; just the opposite. They give rise to suspicions and distrust.

If Acciona wants a dialogue with the community, then it should try transparency and open the doors.


~~~~~~~~~~~
Community Relations Group letter

Consultant defends analysis of Cape noise

By Nancy Madsen Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
Publication: Watertown Daily Times (New York)
Date: Thursday, April 15 2010
Apr. 15--CAPE VINCENT -- The sound consultant for the developer of St. Lawrence Wind Farm defended his noise analysis and, by extension, the layout of the project during a Planning Board meeting Wednesday night.

David M. Hessler of Hessler Associates Inc., Haymarket, Va., told members of the board, Town Council and Wind Committee how the noise analysis was done.

Continue...

Wind developer to start outreach group

Wind developer to start outreach group

By NANCY MADSEN
TIMES STAFF WRITER
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2010


CAPE VINCENT — St. Lawrence Wind Farm's developer has a new community outreach initiative.

Acciona Wind Energy USA will set up a community relations group with 10 to 15 officials and residents.

-- More Turbines are Coming to Wolfe Island

By Nancy Madsen Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
Publication: Watertown Daily Times (New York)
Date: Tuesday, April 13 2010

Apr. 13--CAPE VINCENT -- More turbines are coming.

Windstream Wolfe Island Shoals Inc. was awarded a contract with the Ontario Power Authority to buy power from a 300-megawatt wind project in the waters west of Wolfe Island.

The company is a subsidiary of Windstream Energy Inc., Burlington, Ontario.

Continue...

Property values blowing in the wind

By Nancy Madsen Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
Publication: Watertown Daily Times (New York)
Date: Wednesday, April 7 2010

Apr. 7--Sales records show that Cape Vincent has had a steeper decline in residential property sales than its neighbors and real estate professionals are starting to blame proposed wind power developments.

"People do not want to buy near windmills," said Amanda J. Miller, owner of Lake Ontario Realty, Dexter, who specializes in waterfront property sales. "They avoid purchasing in towns like Cape Vincent."

Continue...

Renewable energy technology focus grows

Watertown Daily Times | Renewable energy technology focus grows

NANCY MADSEN / TIMES STAFF WRITER
FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2010
Robert J. Campany and Augusta L. Withington of Fourth Coast Inc., Clayton, told the Jefferson County Job Development Corp. board a little about their work in photovoltaic solar power, energy efficiency and conservation during the board’s meeting on Thursday morning.

The firm is certified to install photovoltaic arrays by the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency.

Aubertine told NYPA that he will oppose any wind developments if the communities don't want them. NYPA responds ~

March 10, 2010 Senator Darrel Aubertine wrote a letter to NYPA President Ritchard Kessel telling him that he will oppose any wind developments if the communities don't want them.
This is Richard Kessel's response letter to Senator Aubertine.