Wind & Solar Energy

—Op-Ed by Michael Fournier Panic has set in among wind scammers and other environmental terrorists over reports that an intrepid knight has been seen battling wind turbines throughout the wind-farm wastelands of Ellenburg, Churubusco, and Chateaugay.

—Carol Thompson, Chateaugay Albert Johnson (Photo courtesy of Carol Thompson) Forget Barack Obama and John McCain.  Next door Albert Johnson and Jim Otis are battling for Burke Town Supervisor.  It’s a hot contest.  Signs, newspaper ads, flyers, door-to-door, speeches–and bitterness.

—Dr. FrankenTurbinStein WARNING:  These photos are not for the faint-hearted.

Production figures, April 2008 through June 2008 Photo ©Charlie Porter, King City, MO

—Op-Ed by Jack Sullivan The following was published in the Press Republican 9-7-08.  Jack Sulllivan subsequently submitted it to RCM for publication.  The Editor. Mr. Colin Read claims in an August 12th Press Republican “Opinion” column that the 217 wind turbines scheduled for Franklin and Clinton counties would produce enough “permanent and sustainable electric power for

—Matthew L. Wald, New York Times “Barn & wind” (Rock Port, Missouri, photo ©Back Stage) The following article appeared in the NY Times 8-26-08, written by Matthew L. Wald. RiverCityMalone thinks it’s worth reading.  The Editor. When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate

—Nicholas Confessore, New York Times Kathy LaClair, Churubusco, NY (Photo ©Christinne Muschi for the NY Times) The following article appeared in the NY Times 8-17-08, written by Nicholas Confessore. RiverCityMalone thinks it’s worth reading.  The Editor. BURKE, N.Y.–Everywhere that Janet and Ken Tacy looked, the wind companies had been there first. Dozens of people in

—Helen O’Neill, Associated Press John Yancey, Tug Hill (Photo ©AP, Heather Ainsworth) The following article describes the impact of the wind plant on the people of the Tug Hill plateau (Lowville, NY).  It appeared in Yahoo News, 8-16-08, by Helen O’Neill of the Associated Press.  RiverCityMalone thinks it’s worth reading.  The Editor. “Listen,” John Yancey

 —Joseph Spector, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle RiverCityMalone supports this kind of YIMBY (“Yes in my backyard”) (Drawing ©Windtoons.com) The following article appeared in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle 7-28-08, written by Joseph Spector.  RiverCityMalone thinks it’s worth reading.  The Editor. At first there were sporadic complaints last year to the office of Franklin County District

 —Op-Ed by Calvin Luther Martin Sometime yesterday (7-15-08), NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a stunning press release, “Attorney General Cuomo Launches Investigation into Wind Power Companies’ Conduct across Upstate New York.” Noble Environmental Power is one of them.  (The other, UPC Wind, operates downstate.)  The investigation is based on months of research by the 

Cover design by Jordan Klassen

—Wendy Todd, Maine The following was written June 6, 2008 to the residents of the Town of Freedom, Maine, by a lady named Wendy Todd.  Wendy and her family live in the shadow of a windfarm in Mars Hill, Maine.   The letter was published in a Maine publication called Village Soup, and can be read online by clicking here. 

 —Op-Ed by Jack Sullivan, MS (Physics) ©Windtoons.com I was interested to read an editorial in the Press Republican earlier this month arguing that wind power can make a meaningful dent in gas prices.  This is a classic “apples to oranges” mis-comparison.  Little electricity is produced by burning oil, and few homes that currently burn oil

—Op-Ed by Calvin Luther Martin ©Robert Thompson It would be an understatement to say wind energy is a contentious issue locally.  It’s a volatile subject across America, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, even China.  What we’ve experienced in the North Country is a carbon copy of what happens everywhere.  Normally calm communities are plunged into protracted,

—Op-Ed by Boyce Sherwin, MBA Last week, at the invitation of the group, Keep Burke Beautiful, I made a presentation to the Burke town board on the effects of industrial wind turbines on property values. I discussed, as well, the actual PILOT income to Chateaugay and Bellmont. During my presentation I was heckled by some

—by Keep Burke Beautiful Click here to see a map showing the parcels of land which have been leased to wind companies in Burke.

“People bought property here specifically for the silence.”—Wendy & Perrin Todd, Mars Hill, Maine (Photo ©Boston Globe)

©Ben Sargent, NYTimes.com (edited)

¿Cómo se pronuncia “NYSEG” en español, señor? —Op-Ed by Calvin Luther Martin One of the biggest, most controversial and aggressive foreign wind developers is maneuvering to buy out New York State’s electricity infrastructure.  Iberdrola (pronounced “Eye-ber-drola”), a Spanish company, has applied to the NYS Public Service Commission (PSC) for permission to do just this.