“It’s not the view; it’s the vision.”

This is the tagline of Cape Cod’s non-profit organization Clean Power Now. Their mission is to empower citizens to secure the local and regional benefits of wind power.
The vision of harnessing wind energy is quickly becoming a reality. In fact, US wind energy production increased 625 % from 2004 to last year. More than one million Americans are already enjoying the benefits of wind energy. In the near future, wind energy’s uses will include water desalination and hydrogen cell production.

Wind energy opponents often claim they are not against wind, per se—just not here (in the Finger Lakes) or not now (this isn’t the right time). Maybe we should consider here the perfect place and now the perfect time. In fact, environmentally, we cannot afford to wait much longer.

Why here?

Because we have abundant wind here—enough to power 20,000 homes from the Windfarm Prattsburgh project alone.

Because New York State will increase renewable power produced to 25 % within the next seven years.

Why now?

Because the world’s population will double over the next 50 years. During that time, if we don’t cut our usage, petroleum and natural gas will be used up and coal will be nearly gone.

Because the U.S. is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide worldwide. Acid rain, a by-product of Midwest coal plants threatens the ecology of our local lakes and streams and threatens the health of those who consume fish from these waters.

Because nuclear plants in the U.S. are getting old—soon they will need to be shut down or replaced. Do we really want to build new nuclear power plants in upstate New York?
The old arguments of bird kill, noise and government subsidies don’t hold water anymore. There is too much evidence to the contrary. For every 10,000 birds killed by human activities, (buildings, cats, vehicles etc.) only one is caused by a wind turbine.
Current data allows us to site wind farms away from bird migratory routes and modern technology has made turbines almost inaudible when you stand at their base.

Concerning subsidies—the U.S. began offering subsidies in 1947 to promote renewable energy production since start-up costs of any new energy are high. U.S. government has spent approximately $150 billion on energy subsidies for wind, solar and nuclear power--96.3% of this amount has gone to nuclear power. The government spends 350 million annually to pay for work-related disabilities of coal miners. This amount is not reflected in the true price of coal energy. In fact, the environmental damage caused by hydro-electricity and natural gas isn’t reflected in the price we pay for that energy either. Imagine the cost of fossil fuel if plants were forced to produce energy with the zero-emission standard of wind.
Two of the latest arguments against wind power concern efficiency and property values.
Wind energy, sometimes criticized as inefficient is anything but. The blades catch 30-35% of the wind that blows through them but any energy that they capture replaces an equivalent amount of non-renewable energy. It’s never wasted because an energy reserve is always in place to insure a constant supply. Since the base load, from coal or nuclear plants is fixed, the reserve, usually naturally gas, is adjusted to take up the slack. During hot and cold spells and during daily spikes, the reserve kicks in. When wind power is available, it takes the place of natural gas to make up the difference between the base load supplied by coal or nuclear and fluctuating demands. In other words, each kilowatt of energy that wind supplies replaces a kilowatt of energy from natural gas--which is expensive and in short supply.
We’ve all heard a lot about The Fenner Wind Project but for good reason—since it has been in operation for five years, it’s an ideal place to gain insight into the impact of a wind farm in a rural community. A report, Impacts of Windmill Visibility on Property Values in Madison County, New York was released last month. This report analyzed housing sales in Fenner from 1996 to 2005 and concluded that the turbines did not affect property values in a five-mile radius of the wind farm. Only 33% of the homes within a five-mile radius of the turbines could see them. In addition, data obtained from the Madison County Tax Office showed that houses with a view of the wind farm sold for the exact same price as homes without a view. (Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY).

According to Harold McConnell, Prattsburgh town supervisor, “Every community is looking for an industry. This is an industry that will not be a burden on the local school district, highway department or public works.”

Windfarm Prattsburgh will benefit the community in four ways:

1. The PILOT program --$300,000/year in payments. One half will go to the school district, one quarter to the county and one quarter to the town, for each town involved.
2. Compensation Package in addition to PILOT. This will give money to the historical society, wetlands and other community agencies to offset the presence of the wind farm.
3. A separate Home Heating Fund for low- income housing.
4. Rent to landowners totaling about $300, 000/yr.

In essence this gives over a half a million dollars to the local economy annually, not including jobs related to the construction and maintenance of the towers. Should we turn down this monetary shot-in-the arm to our struggling local economy?

On a recent vacation, I had the chance to observe two wind farms; one between the Pyranees Mountains and the Mediterranean in Spain and the second on the shores of the Great Lakes on our return flight from Chicago. In each case, the turbines appeared one or two at a time as our vantage point changed. And, rather than towering monstrosities, they were simply slow turning blades above a spindle-like base.

The Finger Lakes has a couple of things in common with the Mediterranean coast and the Great Lakes region. All are beautiful tourist attractions and all have sufficient wind to warrant the harvesting of energy. As special as our lakes and tree-studded hillsides are, maybe we should look past the trees to see the forest that is our planet. It really is about the big picture—the vision, not the view.

Barb Rathbun