Sorry to response this way but Effie blocked me from responding. I always have to post a new entry.
Glad to hear a few folks are at least still talking on this site. Can't really say I've heard anything about what you're doing Anne. Its interesting your still having "chapter" meetings with the WOW team. Have you been thru Clinton county these days? The turbine payments are going to go a long way with education when other towns are cutting their budgets.
I'm just more than a bit curious what Effie, Anne, and other anti wind content contributors of this site have to say about the high price of oil, electricity rates and natural gas in context of the old argument that wind energy wasn't cost effective. I think the price of energy has at least doubled since this site went up. All of a sudden, these wind farms are started to look like a pretty good investment.
Determining which way the wind blows has rarely been as important to a politician as it is to Gov. David Paterson. Paterson’s ambitious goal of increasing renewable energy to 25 percent of New York’s power by 2013 will hinge on wind turbines.
Since most of New York’s renewable energy comes from hydroelectric power plants with little capacity to grow, and the pace of growth in solar energy has gone at less than light speed, with only 15 megawatts of installed capacity to date, the wind industry will likely account for most of the desired growth in so-called clean energy.
A Newton wind-power company says it has changed its name from UPC Wind to First Wind to better reflect its approach to building, owning and running wind farms in North America.
First Wind officials said the name change, already in effect, would have no impact on the day-to-day operations, organizational structure or the ownership of the company, and the firm plans to remain focused on projects in the Northeast as well as on the West Coast and Hawaii.
Kurt Adams has resigned as chairman of the Maine Public Utilities Commission to join the wind-power company behind the Mars Hill and Stetson Mountain wind power projects.
Adams, who has served as chair of the PUC since 2005, will become senior vice president of transmission for First Wind, formerly known as UPC Wind, a wind development company based in Newton, Mass., according to a press release from the company.
ITHACA — Current code in the Town of Ithaca makes it impossible for individual homeowners to install wind turbines on their property, but that may change soon, said Cathy Valentino, town supervisor and a member of the Codes and Ordinances Committee.
The committee has been researching the issue of small wind-energy facilities for around four months, Valentino said, and committee members have a draft of a law to make installation and ownership of the facilities legal.
The New York Legislature ended its regular session Friday without passing legislation that would allow expedited siting of power plants. Utilities, power producers and the New York Independent System Operator have said the measure is needed to attract investment in plants and avoid electricity shortages.
The legislature could possibly take up the matter again as early as July, when he expects lawmakers will reconvene for a limited, special session. At issue is the Article X law, which provided a single process for obtaining all permits, and guaranteed a one-year limit to the review process. Article X also gave the state authority to override local objections to plants.
WASHINGTON The landmark U.S. law to fight water pollution will now apply only to bodies of water large enough for boats to use, and their adjacent wetlands, and will not automatically protect streams, the U.S. government said on Tuesday.
Environmental groups said they fear the new policy will muddy the purpose of the federal Clean Water Act and put many smaller bodies of water at risk. Democrats in Congress have introduced legislation mandating protection of creeks, estuaries and other watersheds.
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
WASHINGTON (AP) - A House committee chairman from a coal-producing state backed away Wednesday from requiring regulations for the wind energy industry to protect birds and bats, rules the industry said would halt development of wind farms as an alternative to coal.
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., had put into an energy bill a requirement that the Interior Department regulate the siting and operation of energy wind turbines to ensure the safety of wildlife.
His action unleashed intense lobbying by the wind industry and renewable energy advocates, who argued that such restrictions would stop wind farm development at a time when wind is viewed as the most viable renewable alternative to fossil fuels and nuclear power for producing electricity.
As his committee began final crafting of the energy package Wednesday, Rahall relented and agreed to support, instead, a less-sweeping measure offered by Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass. It calls on the Interior Department to develop "guidelines" for protection of wildlife from wind turbines, not regulations.
"I think it was a good compromise. It will allow the development of wind and still allow for a process" to protect wildlife, Rahall said after his committee recessed for the day. A final vote on the energy package was expected Thursday.
This "will allow wind power to continue to thrive," said Markey. Rahall said he expects Markey's amendment to get final approval, although it must still go through a formal committee vote.
The turnaround also shows the increasing political clout of the wind industry, which includes such corporate giants as General Electric Co. (GE) The industry's trade association has more than 1,000 members, compared to a few hundred five years ago.
Electricity from wind turbines serves some 3 million homes, although wind power still accounts for less than 1 percent of the total electricity produced. Coal is burned to produce more than half of the country's electricity, and nuclear reactors account for about 20 percent.
As Congress prepares to consider legislation that would require utilities to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources, wind is viewed as increasingly critical and likely would be used to meet the largest portion of that mandate.
"We turned around what was a very bad provision," said Jaime Steve, legislative affairs director for the American Wind Energy Association, referring to getting Rahall to back away from his original proposal. It would have required the Interior Department to develop regulations affecting surveys, siting, operation and monitoring standards for wind energy projects to determine their impact on migratory birds, bats and other wildlife.
The industry cited a National Academy of Sciences study that said wind turbines accounted for only three of every 100,000 bird deaths. Domestic cats kill 1,000 times as many birds as wind turbines, Steve said, citing another study.
The wind energy industry has been growing at more than 25 percent a year. It installed more than 2,400 megawatts of capacity last year with an expectation of 3,000 additional megawatts this year.
Republicans on the Natural Resources Committee attacked the broader energy legislation that the committee is expected to approved Thursday, saying it does nothing to produce more energy and, in fact, rolls back some measures approved by Congress two years ago that were aimed at streamlining the permitting process for oil and gas development on federal lands.
"I call this the national energy suicide bill," declared Rep. Don Young of Alaska, the ranking Republican on the committee. "This bill does nothing for coal. It does nothing to get more natural gas or about our ability to produce any more oil on shore and off shore. It discourages it."
Rahall said the legislation corrects some of the "excesses" given the oil and gas industry by Congress in 2005 when Republicans were in the majority.
Town of Warren and Town of Stark are holding a meeting on 5/30/07 and 5/31/07 repectively.I attended the Warren meeting on 5/21/07, which they used a divide and conqueror tactic as Town of Stark was the same night. I was appalled with what I heard.So I wrote a letter to the towns of Stark & Warren board members and supervisor's. I also have been going door to door handing out my letter to as many Town of Warren residents that I can because I wanted to community to be aware.
