Cape Council Calls Wind Meeting
Written by Robert Brauchle, Watertown Times Staff Writer | 
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'PACKED HOUSE' EXPECTED: Supervisor to propose halt in development action pending state investigation
AUGUST 17, 2010
CAPE VINCENT — Members of the groups opposed to wind power development are being called to attend a special Town Council meeting tonight. The meeting was called by Cape Vincent Supervisor Urban C. Hirschey to discuss, among other things, the "suspension of all actions pertaining to wind development" and a probe by the state attorney general's office into the actions of certain town officials in connection with wind farm development, according to a fax sent to the Times on Sunday afternoon announcing the meeting.
John L. Byrne, Cape Vincent, a critic of wind power development, said he has contacted a number of groups, including the Wind Power Ethics Group, Coalition for the Preservation of the Golden Crescent and Concerned Residents of Hammond, to attend the meeting.
More Than Half of Britain's wind farms Have Been Built Where There is Not Enough Wind
Written by Fiona Macrae, Daily Mail, U.K. | | |
August 17, 2010
It's not exactly rocket science – when building a wind farm, look for a site that is, well, quite windy. But more than half of Britain’s wind farms are operating at less than 25 per cent capacity. In England, the figure rises to 70 per cent of onshore developments, research shows.
Europe's biggest windfarm, Whitelee, near Glasgow, boasts 140 turbines which last year ran at less than 25 per cent of capacity.
Experts say that over-generous subsidies mean hundreds of turbines are going up on sites that are simply not breezy enough. Britain’s most feeble wind farm is in Blyth Harbour in Northumberland, where the nine turbines lining the East Pier reach a meagre 4.9 per cent of their capacity. Another at Chelker reservoir in North Yorkshire operates at only 5.3 per cent of its potential, the analysis of 2009 figures provided by energy regulator Ofgem found. The ten turbines at Burton Wold in Northamptonshire have been running for just three years, but achieved only 19 per cent capacity. Europe’s biggest wind farm, Whitelee, near Glasgow, boasts 140 turbines. But last year they ran at less than a quarter of their capacity.
Cape Vincent, NY Town Supervisor, Urban Hirschey Calls Special Meeting to Deal With AG Investigation
Written by Jefferson Leaning Left Blog | | |
August 15, 2010
A JLL reader pulled me into the local laundromat, late this afternoon, to look at the bulletin board.
A JLL special meeting of the Cape Vincent Town Board has been called by Urban Hirschey, supervisor of the town of Cape Vincent, NY to discuss the New York State Attorney General's announcement that certain members of the Cape Vincent Town Board and Planning Board are under investigation for misconduct in the handling of wind development matters.
Special Cape Vincent New York Town Board Meeting
Recreation Park on James Street.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010, 7:00 PM
The purpose of the meeting being, "to discuss the AG letter pertaining to allegations of misconduct, to map out the fulfillment of its requirements, and to call for the suspension of all actions pertaining to wind development until the AG has concluded and submitted the results of the investigation."
Five New Wind Leases Filed For Hammond
Written by Matt McAllister, Ogdensburg Journal Reporter | | |
AUGUST 15, 2010
HAMMOND - Five new Hammond wind leases were filed with the St. Lawrence County Clerk's office on July 29, 2010, bringing the total number of agreements in the town to 14, according to a deputy county clerk. While the five new wind options were filed as agreements rather than leases by Atlantic Wind LLC (c/o Iberdrola Renewables, Inc.), Deputy Clerk II Cathy L. Streeter says the end result is the same.
"Windfall" the movie to debut at the Toronto International Film Festival this September
Written by Wind Concerns Ontario | | |
Click here to watch the trailer...
Former editor Laura Israel, meanwhile, makes her directorial debut with “Windfall,” which Powers said, “shows a real sense of craft,” in its look at the dark side of wind energy development and the potential for financial scams. ~ Indiewire
Synopsis: What do we really know about wind power? We are told it is “green energy” and reduces our dependency on foreign oil. That’s exactly what the people in Meridith, a town in upstate New York thought when a developer offered to supplement their town’s failing economy with a farm of their own – that is 40 industrial wind turbines. Attracted at first to the financial incentives, some of the townspeople grow increasingy alarmed as they find out about side effects they had never anticipated. WINDFALL exposes the dark side of wind energy development and the potential for highly profitable financial scams. With wind development in the U.S. growing annually at a rate of 39%, WINDFALL is an eye-opener for anyone concerned about the future of renewable energy.
State Probing Officials at Cape
Written by Brian Kelly, Watertown Times Staff Writer | | |
ATTORNEY GENERAL: Misconduct alleged in wind development
BRIAN KELLY, WATERTOWN TIMES STAFF WRITER
AUGUST 14, 2010
CAPE VINCENT — The state attorney general's office is investigating allegations of misconduct by "certain" town officials in connection with the development of wind farms. John T. Milgrim, spokesman for the attorney general, confirmed that a letter was sent to the town and its attorney Friday afternoon informing them an investigation had been launched. Mr. Milgrim also confirmed that two senior members of Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo's staff, Deputy Chief of Staff John B. Howard and Henry M. Greenberg, executive division counsel, were in Cape Vincent about two weeks ago conducting interviews of "parties interested in wind power."
Click here to read the rest of the Brian's article...
NY State Senator, Darrel Aubertine's Home Town Government Under Investigation by the Attorney General
Written by Jefferson Leaning Left Blog | | |
August 14, 2010
A few citizens in Cape Vincent have known for some time that it was coming down, eventually. It had to. Blatant conflicts of interest were driving the development of industrial wind in Senator Darrel Aubertine's home town, where he once served on the same town board that is now under investigation by the New York State Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate for Governor.
In fact, before he was Senator, Aubertine wrote a letter to the Cape Vincent Town Board. To many, the letter seemed to be giving three wind lease holding town board members permission to be unethical and vote on wind development matters. It also appeared that he was suggesting they should not give the community a voice in wind decisions when he said, "governing by referendum is unwise". Then, he added, "...shouldn't the community decide now what the guiding principles will be for future abstention in different matters..."
Click here to read the rest of the blog article...
International Group Calls for Three-Year Wind Farm Moratorium
Written by Nick Gardner, QMI Agency, Kingston Whig Standard | | |
“It shouldn’t have been placed there,” ~ Ted Cheskey, Manager of Nature Canada Bird Conservation Program
Nick Gardner, QMI Agency, Kingston Whig StandardAugust 13, 2010Alarming bird and bat mortality rates at the Wolfe Island wind farm have an international group calling for a three-year moratorium on wind energy projects on the Upper St. Lawrence River and east end of Lake Ontario. Save The River vice-president Stephanie Weiss said the 86-windmill farm has caused the death of 688 birds and bats, equalling eight per windmill (over 6 months).
