Save Ontario Shores says it will continue opposition to Lighthouse Wind
Press Release, Save Ontario Shores
Save Ontario Shores is firmly committed to continuing its opposition to Lighthouse Wind, an industrial wind project proposed by the Virginia corporation, Apex Clean Energy.
Stipulations for the Article 10 Lighthouse Wind electrical generation project were filed on March 5, 2018. This is the last step before the company can file the application for this project that has proposed up to 70, 600-foot industrial turbines to be placed along 12 miles of the Lake Ontario shoreline. This corporation has been unmoved by the three-year steadily growing chorus of opposition to the project.
Residents in the beautiful rural lakeside towns of Somerset and Yates, located in the project area, were surveyed in 2015 and voiced overwhelming opposition to the project. This did not dissuade the developer, Apex. Since then the two Town Boards passed well-reasoned laws to protect the towns’ environment, residents and economy.
Several diverse national, statewide and regional environmental and birding groups, along with SOS and organizations representing tourism, economic development, and hunting and fishing interests, have formed the POWER Coalition (Protecting {Lake} Ontario’s Waterfront, Environment & Resources) to jointly raise concerns.
County legislatures in Erie, Niagara, and Orleans counties have all voiced their opposition to Lighthouse Wind. The project location includes a major migratory flyway for songbirds and raptors, a lakeside tourist region, and proximity to a US Air Base and thousands of residences and small businesses.
Apex’s reluctance to engage with citizens regarding their concerns has left the company isolated from local leaders. But New York State’s Department of Public Service has indicated that developers need to go through local laws and not around them.
The SOS signs have been up for years and support many in the local community who say: We’ll Keep Fighting! and APEX Go Home!
