Turbines and alternative energy need to be considered in county’s land use policies

Editor:

Any rational person has reservations about the huge towers for the wind energy project proposed for Barre. But alternate energy is coming and we are thinking piecemeal, short term and do not know which sides facts to believe.

Along huge stretches of the beltway south of Chicago there are wind mills south of the road in beautiful farm land as far as the eye. Windmill income puts all those farms are in a better financial position to fight off the further expansion of suburbia which is on the other, north,  side of the road.

Barre and the entire character of Orleans County will be effected by how the county – and not just any one municipality – deal with alternate energy production. Even now while we all hate the Landfill, Albion – unlike other places – neglected to require generators to convert all the methane into power for the local grid.

If we were going to be stuck with it we could have demanded tapping the energy, selling it and royalties – Barre is being offered yearly side money not tied to production to cover increased costs for roads etc. as the host community.

Orleans County – New York in general – has WATER. To take full advantage of that we have to start thinking about energy demands and alternate energy just as surely as we think about water and roads.

The question must always start “how best to?” And as much as I dislike and distrust  “professional planners,” it can start with inquires as simple as where do we find the independent expertise we need.

It’s time to start including energy in all these land use discussions.

Conrad F. Cropsey

Albion