Resident questions Yates Councilman’s claims about turbine project

Posted 25 January 2017 at 10:31 am

Editor:

As a taxpayer and constituent in the Town of Yates, I find it offensive that you, John Riggi, continue to put out misinformation about the Lighthouse Wind Project and sign your letters Councilman, Town of Yates.

As my Councilman, I would prefer that you check and get the facts correct before stating them in a letter to the editor. John, your nose is growing faster than the height of the wind turbines. For this reason, again I give you four “Pinocchios.”

It is true Apex has proposed a 200 MW Wind Farm in the towns of Somerset and Yates. I have checked with Project Manger, Taylor Quarles, as well as several other helpful Apex employees, and they all confirmed that the final turbine model and tower height will be provided in the final application.  I have been completely unable to determine where the minimum height of 700 feet as you stated in your letter dated Dec. 21, 2016 came from.

Once the turbine size, layout and underground collection routes have been determined, the other major cost of the wind farm would be the height of the towers.  I assume most of the readers would know, the higher you go the greater the cost.  If you can get the productivity that you desire at 400, 500, or 600 feet, you surely wouldn’t build to 700 feet, especially considering there are not any onshore turbines available at that height!  I ask you John, “What reason do you have for perpetuating this made up 700 feet number, other than fear mongering.”

As a former Air Force military man, I place much more faith in the DOD Siting Clearinghouse, Retired Col. David Belote, and the present Base Commander of NFARS, then a misinformed Past President of SOS turned Town of Yates Councilman.  As a past military man, I also know that The Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC), that Mr. Riggi claims to know so much about, is the most political Committee in government.  I’m confident with our new President, being a fellow New Yorker, there will be much opposition to closing NFARS. This is another example of your fear mongering.

In my opinion, the more the public is informed of the many benefits of wind power, (clean green energy, lower or no town taxes, farm income not dependent on weather or commodity prices, more computers and classroom aids for our schools, lower school taxes, lower county taxes) to name a few.

Remember back when everyone opposed the Somerset Power Project.  I have observed Somerset residents enjoying many of the above benefits and more for over the past decades.

Respectfully,

Howard Pierce

Lyndonville