Wind flower and Chris JB,
Here is another comment from Glenn. The reason why I am posting Mr. Schleede's arguments should be clear. His logic is consistent and persuasive. He is a member of the private CWW - RIWT - Yahoo Group
cohoctonwindwatch : Risks of Industrial Wind Turbines
James Hall for CWW
Power plant rules sought -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY
Power plant rules sought
Dear Mr. Rulison,
Thanks for your January 31, 2008, article, "Power plant rules sought."
Clearly, the governor should be interested in avoiding an electricity shortage, but there is no good reason to believe that his "plan" (15 by 15) is a realistic way to serve the needs of the people of NY -- as demonstrated in the attached paper.
I was puzzled by your statement, "Less controversial are renewable sources of energy such as hydro, wind and solar that also do not emit carbon dioxide." Wind energy has become very controversial, particularly in NY but also in other states and in countries around the world.
During the past 3 years it has become increasingly clear that the wind industry an other wind energy advocates (e.g., NYSERDA) have greatly overstated the energy, environmental and economic benefits of wind and greatly understated the adverse environmental, ecological, economic, scenic and property value impacts. Wind advocates have misled the public, media and government officials. Unfortunately, they have been very successful in getting federal and state officials to provide huge tax breaks and subsidies to the industry. As a result:
a. "Wind farms" are being built primarily for their tax benefits -- not because of the energy, environmental or economic benefits.
b. Millions of dollars annually are being taken from the pockets of ordinary taxpayers and electric customers and given to a few large corporations (many foreign-owned) that own "wind farms."
c. Billions of capital investment dollars are being diverted to energy projects ("wind farms") that produce very little electricity -- which electricity is low in value because it is intermittent, volatile and unreliable. Further, most of the electricity from wind turbines is produced at night in cold months -- not on hot weekday late afternoons in July and August when electricity demand reaches peak levels.
"Wind farms" have virtually no "capacity" value because they cannot be counted on when electricity demand is at peak levels. Only reliable ("dispatchable") generating units can be counted on to serve peak demand. New York will have to add reliable generating capacity (not wind turbines) if it is to meet growth in electricity demand and/or replace old generating units.
Further, "wind farms" are highly controversial because:
a. The huge machines produce very little electricity.
b. The true cost of electricity form wind turbines is much greater than industry lobbyists admit.
c. Developers are seeking to build "wind farms" without sufficient regard for their substantial adverse environmental, ecological, economic, scenic and property value impacts.
Evidence of their controversial nature should be obvious when you recognize the dozens of "greassroots" opposition groups that have emerge in NY, elsewhere in the US and in many other countries.
Recognizing their devastating local impacts of "wind farms," particularly in upstate and western New York it would seem hard to justify passing a law that would permit a state siting board to override local governments that are trying to protect their citizens. I'm aware that political leaders like to label opponents as "NIMBYs," But who are the real NIMBYs? They are the people in cities and suburbs who don't want any generating plants in THEIR back yards but who are quite content to force them on others. Why not insist that generating plants be built IN cities are in suburbs so that they will be close to the sources of demand.
You can find a lot of facts about the controversial nature of wind energy on such web sites as
www.windaction.org | Welcome and
National Wind Watch | Facts About Industrial Wind Power.
Good luck with your future reporting.
Glenn R. Schleede (former New Yorker)
18220 Turnberry Drive
Round Hill, VA 20141-2574
540-338-9958