Lyndonville resident pleased to see commitment from developer with 2 local wind energy projects

Editor:

It’s been reassuring, over the last several days, to see the progress being made by both the Lighthouse and the Heritage Wind projects. The steady, if sometimes halting march to sensible, sustainable energy is particularly gratifying to local observers who understand the importance of seeing these projects through the Article 10 process to completion.

Casting an eye to the Lighthouse project in particular, the flood of press releases from the town boards of Yates and Somerset, would lead you to falsely believe there is no local support for these projects. But incessant press releases are not the same as the truth, and in the anti-wind campaign, the full truth is seldom told: both of these projects are vastly beneficial for the environment, and for the economies of Niagara and Orleans counties.

The recent devastating news that the keystone operator in the Oakfield STAMP project had pulled the plug by backing out of its commitment to Genesee County, sent tremors throughout the region. Thankfully, the two wind projects are well down the road to approval and implementation, providing much-needed jobs and steady income to our depressed local economies.

Both town boards involved in the Lighthouse project have slipped from passionate demurring to obstructive obsession. Their collective poor judgment continues to exhibit hostility to agricultural interests, and drives a wedge in the community that even time will have difficulty healing.

Again, on behalf of the quiet, thinking majority, it’s good to see progress.

Ralph E. Smith

Lyndonville