In response to this the Watertown times has written an
editorial highlighting important issues concerning solar energy and
the implications for the North Country.
The editorial
points out the inefficiency of solar and that the economics of the nearly
completed LaFargeville project are flawed.[Solar Payoff lacking]
After reading this
editorial I am convinced that I must have missed the editorial concerning the inefficiency
of wind power.
If
the Watertown Times was interested in doing a story important to the North
Country they might also consider doing some in-depth reporting on the exploitation of our community
at the hands of foreign wind developers.
Cape
Vincent has been struggling with wind development in the North Country since before
2006.
The divisive methods deployed by the
developers have resulted in accusations of corruption, conflicts of interests, voter
fraud, lawsuits, as well as the promotion of a flawed sound study. Apparently
these issues are not newsworthy.
6 comments:
Let me ask you this, Pandora...
Do you have the economic ability to place a hundred thousand dollars worth of ads in the WDT?
Bp does. There is more than one way to make the news go your way.
What's the difference between solar and wind inefficiencies in the eyes of the WDT editorial board?
Both technologies won't add a kilowatt to our state's baseload electric needs. If you are Amish or a burned out hippie who could sit in the dark by candlelight waiting for the wind to blow and the sun to shine, then you'd have no problem with these intermittent sources of power.
But, most of us would not be so tolerant in altering our day-to-day lives, especially if we were running a small manufacturing company like Metal Craft - "No work today guys, the wind ain't blowing!"
The solar project the editors slammed was a local project, funded by local tax dollars with some state grants to help offset costs. In the case of wind, however, local governments have not a nickel in the development expense, although wind is still just as, or even more, dependent on public funds to make it viable.
Maybe the WDT likes big development. Maybe they like the change in view because it suggests progress towards a new century. Maybe they like big development regardless of consequences or how well it fits our community. Maybe they like the idea of creating a few jobs to keep windmills spinning. Maybe they don't want to ruffle the feathers of JCC with their Big Wind training program. Whatever the reason we need an explanation from WDT why Big Wind doesn't deserve the same or bigger
slap across the face.
What the WDT misses is that Big Wind has a number of drawbacks that don't plague solar or the Orleans project. Big Wind wants a big local tax break. Big Wind diminishes property values for those homes within view of large industrial turbines. Big Wind kills birds and bats. Big Wind can fail thereby hurling chunks of rotors onto roadways and buildings. Big Wind causes flicker which can drive some people nuts. Big Wind is noisy and has made people sick and driven people from their homes. Big Wind tears communities apart fighting over money. None of these adverse impacts apply to Orleans solar project, none.
These are the very same issues that lead the Town of Cape Vincent to conclude that Big Wind was a poor fit for their town and that solar was a better fit. It was all about health, safety and general welfare issues that placed solar above Big Wind as an appropriate renewable energy technology for the Town of Cape Vincent. Moreover, it applies equally to Jefferson and St. Lawrence County communities along the eastern shore of Lake Ontario and along the St. Lawrence River valley.
The WDT editors were short-sighted in their review of the Orleans solar project. They should have included Big Wind and considered both renewable technologies regarding adverse impacts as well as efficiency. Unfortunately, the editorial board exposed their biases criticizing solar and the Town of Orleans.
The WDT editors are not just short sighted.
They are knowingly ignoring the elephant in the parlor.
Someday, maybe in their retired dotage, these editors and the publisher will tell us why they ducked this issue in a head on way.
Little Lafargeville, I say hurray for them. You don't hear people over there fighting with each other, not like the people in the Cape. Hurray for them.
"You don't hear people over there fighting with each other"
Wrong. Lafargeville, town of New Orleans did an economic study that showed wind was not a good deal. As a result, Iberdrola abandoned Orleans wind turbines as part of Horse Creek...And trust me, there was fighting and kicked out Horse Creek turbines.
Hey 10:47 are they fighting now, no. You certainly have all the answers to every little question. Who cares about your turbines in the Cape or whatever. Keep your comments and your turbine knowledge in you small hick town of Cape Vincent. The people in Lafargeville are pleasant and nice to each other, who needs the bickering of the Cape crowd to stick their noises into other peoples business's. We may be a small village, but we'll never be another Cape Vincent, thank god.
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