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Opinion: be skeptical of wind developer representatives, says Parishville resident

Posted 4/12/17

To the Editor: No matter what any wind developer representative tells you about the height of the turbines they are proposing to use, be skeptical. They throw out understated specifications during …

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Opinion: be skeptical of wind developer representatives, says Parishville resident

Posted

To the Editor:

No matter what any wind developer representative tells you about the height of the turbines they are proposing to use, be skeptical. They throw out understated specifications during the preliminary stages (sales job) of development that they are in no way bound to stick with.

The fact is that the quality of wind characteristics in Northern and Western New York are no better than mediocre for purposes of electric power generation. We do have wind -- generally from west to east coming off the Great Lakes, but even that tends not to be the steady and sustained wind the developers find more to their liking found in the Great Plains states.

But location becomes less of a factor when you reach higher up into the sky. The difference between 300 ft. in height and 600 ft. (and taller!) in height can be enormous in trying to catch the wind. The global wind industry is moving wholesale to larger machines for this reason – and because they have begun to manufacture components for much larger turbines recently. Turbines the size of those on Tug Hill and Wolfe Island are fast being phased out of production and are yesterday’s technology. They will soon become artifacts like the smaller lattice tower turbines – many no longer working – that litter the deserts of southern California.

Wind developers know, of course, that the visual, auditory and ecological impact of 600 ft. plus machines is much greater than the already great impact of the 380 ft. turbines with which we are more familiar. That is why they are determined to be as vague and non-committal as they can be about the turbines they really intend to put in the ground – the ground near you.

Doug Witherell

Parishville