So far, windmills seem our best bet
Plattsburgh Press Republican
May 29, 2005
It has been six months since we took up the issue of wind farms on these pages, urging people to study the
facts and stay informed.
Wind-energy companies are seeking arrangements with local farmers to allow 25-story towers on their land in
exchange for annual fees and a share of the price earned when the electricity produced is sold. Such projects
are under study in the towns of Malone, Brandon, Clinton and Ellenburg.
We sent Staff Writer Denise A. Raymo to visit two wind farms in Madison County and published her reports earlier
last week in a three-part series called "Current Events."
In it, she described the noise made by the windmills' 110-foot blades as similar to the patterned sound bicycle
tires make when ridden on pavement. She did not hear a constant "sneakers-in-a-clothes-drier" racket described by
wind-farm opponents.
Random interviews with neighbors living varying distances from the turbines revealed that, at first, they were opposed
to the gigantic structures. But, once the devices were in place, the turning blades not only blended into the background
but provided a soothing feeling and a sense of reassurance.
One woman said she was among many people who stood in awe for hours, watching as huge trucks brought giant sections of
tower and the related components through town foot by foot until they were finally set up at the wind-farm site.
Opponents say it is just that, the size, that is a problem because the North Country's unblemished landscape - coveted for
its beauty and lack of development - would be destroyed by a cluster of turbines.
And flocks of birds and bats would also be endangered. Opponents claim thousands of our avian and nocturnal friends are
killed by windmills each year, which is confirmed by a federal-government study. But the same report notes that the bird-bat
kill is virtually insignificant compared with the millions that meet their doom by crashing into buildings and vehicle
windshields or tangling with the neighbor's cat.
Examples of financial benefits from wind-farm operations are coming to light. In Lewis County, where a project 10 times
the size of the one proposed in Malone is under construction, the building permits alone will bring $415,000 to the county,
in addition to the $174,000 in payment-in-lieu-of-taxes money.
New York is under a mandate from Gov. George Pataki that says one-quarter of the state's power will come from renewable
sources within eight years. It is, environmentally, squeaky-clean energy.
The North Country could be in the forefront of that surge in energy-production technology and could establish many related
businesses and production factories that would bring in badly needed, well-paying jobs.
Everyone anywhere near a prospective site for a windmill should get all the information possible to make sure there will
be no surprises.
But we looked for reasons to not like the windmills and found few. Renewable energy is at stake, and surely we all favor
its development - if the side effects are minimal.
So far, they seem to be.
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