ULYSSES – The wind blows frequently and strongly along Potter
County ridges, and that’s a good thing, says Bob White of AES, a
Virginia-based company that is a leader in wind generation – using
windmills to create electricity.
White spoke to about 70 Ulysses area residents at the Tri-Town
Firehall, explaining his company’s plans for a “Wind Farm” in
Northern Potter County.
The company presently has about 13,000 acres under lease in
Ulysses and Hector townships, and plans to build from 70 to 80
large wind-powered turbinesðat various spots on the land.
While White displayed a map with red dots indicating potential
turbine sites, he also noted that the map was computer generated
and thatðthe windmills would be more precisely located after
studies were completed and a number of factors, some affecting
humans and wildlife, were considered.
One of several display boards set up in theðbanquet room of the
firehall listed more than two dozen studies that the company would
perform, ranging from bird flight patterns and possible effects
upon rattlesnakes to archaeological research.
White called his company “socially responsible,” saying that it
would do everything it could to minimize effects upon humans and
wildlife.
The main selling point of wind generation is that it is clean
and environmentally sound, White told the group, providing numerous
handouts and fact sheets showing that wind generated power, as it
becomes more widely used, can displace much of the fossil fuel
generation that now spews carbon dioxide and other pollutants into
the atmosphere.
Electricity generation is presently the largest industrial
source of air pollution in the country, one sheet noted, with power
plants emitting 13.2 million tons of sulfur dioxide and 7.9 million
tons ofðnitrogen oxide, both of which are leading causes of acid
rain.
They also produce 34 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted in
the United States, which is the largest producer of CO2.
Wind power has the capability of producing up to 20 percent of
the nation’s electrical needs, about what nuclear plants now
produce, the material claims.
While White talked about the environmental and economic benefits
of wind power, some in the audience were highly skeptical of his
claims.
Dan Howe, who has written letters to the Leader-Enterprise
opposing the windmills, which can be more than 400 feet tall, on a
number of grounds, not the least of which is that they will mar the
beauty of the countryside, stated the machines are unpopular in
France and other parts of Europe, where they have long been in use
– “Why should we be happy with them when others are saying ‘We
don’t want them?'”ð
Someone else asked why, if wind generation is so good, Ted
Kennedy and John Kerry oppose it.
Several people were concerned with the effect the construction
and operation might have upon property taxes; White noted that,
while the structures would be taxed, what happens then is up to the
municipalities.
Others wanted to know where the electricity would go, something
White tried to explain by talking about how electrons travel and by
noting that the power all goes into the gridðas part of the
electrical pool.
When several people asked rather accusingly who would benefit
from the electricity produced, andðone protester noted, “One study
I did not see listed is whether local people want it; the many who
aren’t going to profit; will they have any say over the few that
will?”
Mike Healy, an Adelphia employee and Potter County resident
since 1997, challenged him, “Do you use electricity? Then you will
profit.”
He pointed out that everyone would benefit if less coal is
burned and that fossil fuels would someday be used up.
While a few people vocally objected to the project, most did not
offer opinions either way.
The project has been brought before the Potter County Planning
Commission and apparently meets all local regulations and
standards, including land use regulations.
Numerous state and federal approvals and permits are
pending.
