effie: you are in the know! I need your assistance. A recent letter in the Daily News (2/28/07) refers to a wind farm (proposed) in Waterville, NY --about 16 miles south of Utica. I am not finding any reference to it on the net. Do you know anything about it? Ms. Sharp is referring to the financial aspect of the proposed farm--is there one? I am trying to check her facts.

One Community’s Experience with Wind Development:
An Interview with Richard J. Graham, Esq.
Lewis County Attorney
Town Attorney, Town of Lowville
as told to Katherine Daniels of the
New York Planning Federation

[skipping Q1..Q16]

Q17: Did the developer offer any other inducements to the towns?
A17: In our case, we’ve had several positive experiences with the developer in what I call "good faith" issues. These are instances where the developer has agreed to extend its good faith towards the communities. For example, from the very outset, Flat Rock agreed to pay all legal fees incurred by the municipalities, not only in the review of permitting issues, but also in any of the contracting issues that arose. Flat Rock absorbed the entire cost of the special counsel hired to perform the Empire Zone work. The developer has also agreed to fund the cost of a financial advisor to assist the towns with managing the increased revenues, and has offered to construct a visitors’ center to attract tourism.

Tug Hill (Lewis County)
New York, USA

(rated at 240MW, about 160 1.5MW turbines)

— data collected and graphed by
Richard Bolton, President
Environmental Compliance Alliance
Rushville, NY
BOLTON@hws.edu
January 7, 2007

Energy producers are not required to file actual energy production figures for their plant, but are required to file hourly financial transaction information with FERC ["The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is an independent regulatory agency within the Department of Energy that, among other energy-related tasks, licenses and inspects private, municipal and state hydroelectric projects."].

We moved to this area for the peace and solitude that it offered, We don't want the noise. Why do you reside here?

We enjoy the evening sky and the beautiful stars that surround us at night, We don't want to replace that beauty with red strobe lights. Which would you prefer to see on a hot summer night?

We enjoy the wildlife that is abundant around us; Most of us encounter it daily. Growing up in a city, I was 11 before I ever saw a grasshopper. We don't want the wildlife to disappear, No matter how small it may be.

Untitled man in turbine field.

This agreement called “NEIGHBOR AGREEMENT AND GRANT OF EASEMENTS” is for landowners who abut or are living in close proximity to industrial wind turbines, but do not have a wind turbine on their land.

The purpose of this 17-page agreement is to grant the Wind Development Company certain rights and easements in exchange for monetary compensation. Shown here are highlighted notes revealing what the Company asks and what the Abutter receives.