Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Bill would limit turbines near bases



By JIM KRENCIK
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2016
Batavia news.com


YATES — Citing concerns that a planned 201-megawatt wind turbine installation in northwestern Orleans County and northeastern Niagara County would imperil operations at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, Rep. Chris Collins, R-Clarence said new legislation would seek to curb wind projects near military installations. Continue reading via this link to the Daily News

Wednesday, November 23, 2016


Cuomo limits donations from companies seeking state business

By Patrick Lohmann  
November 16, 2016  

Syracuse.com

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced that his campaign and the state Democratic Party will no longer accept donations from companies that bid on state projects. Continue reading via this link to Syracuse.com

D&C investigation: Big solar coming to NYS, some are wary



Steve Orr ,
November 23, 2016
Democrat & Chronicle

Driven by the Cuomo administration’s expanded emphasis on renewable energy


Large commercial solar farms, covering dozens of acres with tens of thousands of electricity-generating panels, are certain to arrive in New York state in a big way. Continue reading via this link to the Democrat & Chronicle

Monday, November 21, 2016

With a Meeting, Trump Renewed a British Wind Farm Fight



Credit: DANNY HAKIM & ERIC LIPTON
 NOV. 21, 2016
New York Times Business Day 

LONDON — When President-elect Donald J. Trump met with the British politician Nigel Farage in recent days, he encouraged Mr. Farage and his entourage to oppose the kind of offshore wind farms that Mr. Trump believes will mar the pristine view from one of his two Scottish golf courses, according to one person present. Continue reading via this link to the New York Times


SunEdison files for bankruptcy  

Credit: Jeffery Smith

The Steuben Courier Advocate

COHOCTON - SunEdison, a global renewable energy development company, that operates and maintains over 100 turbine windmills in Cohocton recently filed bankruptcy.Cohocton Wind and Dutch Hill Wind is owned by Terraforma, an investment agency, according to Jamie Johnson, executive director of the Steuben County IDA.“The company that services and maintains (the windmills), SunEdison just filed for bankruptcy,” said Cohocton Supervisor Tom Johnson. Continue reading via this link to the Steuben Courier Advocate


NYISO cites costs, capacity in Cuomo clean energy plan

Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Albany Times Union

The New York Independent System Operator, which also runs the state's wholesale electric markets, told state regulators in a filing last Friday that adding the amount of solar panels and wind turbines to the grid needed to achieve the goal, known as the Clean Energy Standard, would overload the transmission system. It also would require the state to dramatically increase the amount of reserve capacity it sets aside.

But in a sharply worded rebuttal, Richard L. Kauffman, who chairs the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, called the NYISO filing "misleading, incomplete and grossly inaccurate," saying that technology and "simply smarter markets and operations allow the system to easily accommodate renewable resources."  Continue reading via this link to the Times Union



  • Richard L. Kaufman is also a member of the Public Service Commission's siting board



NYSERDA to measure wind speed and ocean waves in pre-development of offshore wind

November 21, 2016 Michelle Froese :
Windpower Engineering & Development

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) took another step to advance offshore wind development off the coast of Long Island by seeking comments on a draft plan to measure wind speed and ocean waves at the federal ocean site. NYSDERDA plans to bid on the site on December 15, 2016. Continue reading via this link to Windpower Engineering & Development




Saturday, November 19, 2016


Cuomo’s ~ Gangland Government in the News  

Emboldened Cuomo Attempts To Consolidate Power Under Guise of Ethics Reform

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2016 AT 11:20 A.M.
BY MAX RIVLIN-NADLER

Governor Andrew Cuomo came into office over six years ago pledging to clean up state government. Since then, Albany has seen levels of corruption that exceed even its own lofty standards for wrongdoing. Cuomo’s own ethics commission was scuttled by the governor himself before being taken over by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who went on to successfully prosecute the leaders of both state houses. Now, as Cuomo's closest friend and former top advisor, Joseph Percoco, is about to be indicted for rigging bids on state contracts, the governor proposed a raft of ethics reforms on Wednesday that stand little chance of ever getting made into law. Continue reading via this link to the Village voice





In trying to bribe voters, a mighty wind firm (IBERDROLA) blew it

Sentinel Editorial
Friday, November 18, 2016 12:00 pm

It certainly wasn’t the biggest story to come out of last Tuesday’s election, but it was an important one nonetheless.
Voters in the small Vermont towns of Grafton (population about 670) and Windham (roughly 328) resoundingly said no to an offer some might have thought they couldn’t refuse. The two towns rejected a bid to site a large wind farm across their common border, and, in doing so, said: We will not be bought.
Spanish energy giant Iberdrola Renewables, which has in recent years been targeting northern New England for large-scale wind facilities — it’s behind the 12-turbine wind project in Lempster — sought to put two dozen 500-foot-tall wind turbines along a ridge in the Stiles Brook Forest.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Experts debate feasibility of governor’s new clean energy standard

Watertown Daily Times
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2016
By MARCUS WOLF
ALBANY — Three energy experts sharply debated Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s clean-energy standard Monday morning in a forum at the Albany Hilton.
 
Robert Bryce, a senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute, Ken Girardin, a policy analyst for the Empire Center for Public Policy, and Jerry Kremer, the chairman of the New York Affordable Reliable Electricity Alliance, took questions from moderator Barbara Lombardo and audience members about the standard’s impact on the consumers and the private market, nuclear power, public response and the role of the state Legislature throughout its development and implementation. Continue reading via this link to the Watertown Daily Times


 Cuomo Signs Article 10 into law with Carol Murphy
Executive Director of ACENY by his side.
ACENY is a Wind Power lobbying org that directs NYS 
 energy Policy.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

TUG HILL COMMISSION DOCUMENTS RELATED to ARTICLE 10 WORKSHOP

 Materials from November 14, Article 10 Workshop given by Paul Agresta, general counsel of the New York State Public Service Commission



Big Wind Blown Away in Vermont

Big Wind had a rough Election Day in the Green Mountain State.

 NATIONAL REVIEW
 by Robert Bryce
 November 15, 2016

Big Wind lost big last Tuesday. While it’s not clear what Donald Trump’s election means for federal energy policy, it’s abundantly obvious that the wind-energy sector’s agenda was crushed in Vermont. Indeed, thanks to the resounding — and somewhat improbable — election of a new Republican governor, Phil Scott, it is possible that Vermont could ban construction of new wind projects. And in the towns of Grafton and Windham, voters rejected the proposed Stiles Brook wind project by big margins. Continue reading via this link to NATIONAL REVIEW





Monday, November 14, 2016


Perquimans denies permit for $300M APEX wind power project

Commissioners were not convinced that Apex’s project would not  “substantially” injure adjoining property owners.

By Peter Williams
The Perquimans Weekly
Monday,Nov.14,2016

HERTFORD — Perquimans County commissioners have rejected a proposed $300 million wind farm, voting 3-2 Monday night to deny the project a conditional use permit.
A majority of the board’s five members favored the project, but individually three had problems with at least some aspect of Apex Clean Energy’s Timbermill Wind proposal.


Sunday, November 13, 2016


Senator worries wind turbines may put military pilots at risk

By Chris Ramirez | The Corpus Christi Caller-Times (Tribune News Service) | Published: October 14, 2016

KINGSVILLE, Texas — U.S. Texas Sen. John Cornyn wants to end tax incentives for new wind energy projects that would be located within 30 miles of a military airfield, saying the technology may pose a threat to pilots. Continue reading via this link to Stars and Stripes

Saturday, November 12, 2016


Town board claims developer’s project area expands outside of overlay district

The bucloclic splendor of Maple ridge
 Wind farm

ORLEANS — Orleans town councilmen claimed that Atlantic Wind LLC’s project area for its proposed Horse Creek Wind farm expands outside the town’s wind energy facility overlay district, adding to the town board’s list of concerns about the project and its developer. Continue reading via this link to the Watertown Daily Times




Note: Atlantic Wind LLC is a wholly -owned subsidiary of the Spanish company  Iberdrola renewables LLC.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Town of Somerset budgets big money to fight windmills

SOMERSET - To fight a controversial wind power project, the Town of Somerset is planning to more than double what it spends on lawyers and engineers in 2017.
  Continue reading via this link to the Buffalo News

Wednesday, November 9, 2016


New wind, old fights

New York leads in wind development in the Northeast, but still trails 12 other states in the country, including California, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington. Texas is eating everybody's lunch.

A burst of new wind projects could push New York higher in the rankings; emphasis on "could." Plenty of state wind-farm proposals have died due to community opposition. Continue reading via this link to Rochester City Newspaper


Windham And Grafton Tell Iberdrola to hit the road


Windham And Grafton Reject Iberdrola’s Controversial Wind Project


An industrial wind development was flatly rejected by two southern Vermont towns that voted on the project Tuesday.
The Spanish energy company Iberdrola Renewables said it wanted to build Vermont's largest wind project in Windham and Grafton. And both towns voted against the project Tuesday.
Continue reading via this link to VPR Vermont's Public News Source

Tuesday, November 8, 2016


IDA board members discuss tax policy revisions, vow not to override Jefferson County energy policy

Watertown Daily Times
By MARCUS WOLF
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016
ARTICLE OPTIONS
WATERTOWN — The Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency board of directors discussed revisions for the agency’s uniform tax exemption policy last Thursday at its meeting, but several members vowed they will not incorporate regulations that override the county’s policy for large-scale alternative energy projects. Continue reading via this link to the Watertown Daily Times

 JCIDA CEO Don Alexander with
Wind developer  Bill Moore
@ Galloo Island Wind PIP open house
JCIDA CEO Donald C. Alexander advised against incorporating a statement affirming a position by the JCIDA never to invoke a pilot on any one of the taxing jurisdictions if one entity did not want it.




Monday, November 7, 2016

Wind farms might be killing many more bats than previously estimated

Wind farms have a long-documented history of killing hundreds of thousands of birds and bats each year. As it turns out, the bat toll may be higher than previously estimated. Continue reading via this link to the Watertown Daily Times

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Wind power developer sues Somerset over project delay

Met tower Galloo Island

SOMERSET - The developer of a proposed wind power project is taking the Town of Somerset to court over delays in its project that it blames on the town Planning Board.

The suit, filed Thursday, asks a judge to declare that the Planning Board broke the law when it decided in early October to require a full-length environmental impact form from Apex Clean Energy, not for the proposed 70 wind turbines, but for two temporary towers loaded with equipment to gather weather data. Continue reading via this link to the Buffalo News

Saturday, November 5, 2016

One size doesn’t fit all



Watertown Daily Times
Outside Looking In By Perry White
November 4,2016

This is a tale of two commercial wind projects (and by extension, a lot more than two).

A couple of weeks ago, we reported on the first commercial wind project proposed for Oswego County. Mad River Wind will occupy 20,000 or so acres on the southern verge of the Tug Hill Plateau, where winds are steady and people are scarce. Our reporting indicated that no serious opposition has emerged, and most of the people most affected by the proposal are raving about the plans. The portion of the project in the town of Worth has received a similar lack of opposition. Continue reading via this link to the Watertown Daily Times

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Planning board member claims wind developer should address bird mortality rate

Watertown Daily Times
By Marcus Wolf
PUBLISHED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2016

 Little Galloo Island
Jefferson County Planning Board member Clifford P. Schneider claimed that Apex Clean Energy failed to address the potential number of birds and bats that could die from colliding with their turbines’ blades and rotors for its proposed Galloo Island Wind Farm. He requested that the developer should conduct a radar study in 2017 to determine that statistic.
Continue reading via this link to the Watertown Daily Times

Tuesday, November 1, 2016


APEX’S  Proposed Searchlight wind farm suffers another legal setback

By HENRY BREAN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
A federal appeals court has dealt another blow to a proposed wind farm near Searchlight.

Bald Eagle ~ Galloo Island
09/2016 ~ C.P. Schneider 
In her decision Oct. 30, 2015, U.S. District Judge Miranda Du ruled that the agencies hadn’t adequately assessed potential impacts of the Searchlight Wind energy project on eagles, desert tortoises and other federally protected species.


Save Ontario Shores to present forum on bald eagles



Retired New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) wildlife technician Mike Allen will discuss the resurgence of the bald eagle during a presentation at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at Barker High School cafeteria. Continue reading via this link to the Daily News

Vermont secretary of state blasts wind developer’s proposed payments to voters



By Bruce Parker and Michael Bielawski
Published November 01, 2016
watchdog.org
 

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos said Thursday that Iberdrola’s financial incentive to registered voters is “pushing the envelope in an attempt to influence the vote” on a 24-turbine wind project proposed for Windham and Grafton. Continue reading via this link to Vermont Watchdog.org


Interior Department to Auction Over 79,000 Acres Offshore New York for Wind Energy Development

  Fourteen companies qualified to bid in 6th competitive lease sale


map of the lease area
The New York Wind Energy Area starts approximately 11.5 nautical miles (nm) from Jones Beach, NY. From its western edge, the area extends approximately 24 nm southeast at its longest portion. The lease area consists of five full Outer Continental Shelf blocks and 143 sub-blocks.



14 companies that BOEM has deemed legally, technically and financially qualified to participate in the upcoming lease sale:


  • Avangrid Renewables, LLC
  • CI-II NY Inc.
  • DONG Energy Wind Power (U.S.) Inc.
  • Innogy US Renewable Projects LLC
  • wpd offshore Alpha LLC
  • Deepwater Wind Hudson Canyon, LLC
  • Energy Management, Inc.
  • Convalt Energy LLC
  • Clean Power Northeast Development Inc.
  • New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
  • Statoil Wind US LLC
  • EDF Renewable Development, Inc.
  • Fishermen’s Energy, LLC
  • Sea Breeze Energy LLC


Rep. Chris Collins (R-Clarence) and State Sen. Robert Ortt both spoke out against Apex Wind Energy turbines in Somerset


NIAGARA FALLS — Some elected officials and about 50 members of Save Ontario Shores gathered at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station Monday for a press conference regarding Apex Clean Energy's plan to build up to 70 wind turbines along the lake in Somerset and Yates. Continue reading via this link to the Lockport Journal


Opponents of proposed wind turbines claim conflict of interest by lobbying firm


Opponents of a proposed wind turbine project along the Lake Ontario shoreline claim the lobbying firm representing the energy company(APEX) behind that project is also supporting an interest that may be seeking to put the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station out of commission. Continue reading via this link to WBFO