Jim,
As you know, I am opposed to the wind turbine industrialization of the Finger Lakes region as currently proposed. I am sure you have heard all the reasons why… that is not the purpose of this email. I told you I would send you some information, but before I do, I would like to review a part of our conversation after the Prattsburg meeting on DEIS. If I understood your correctly, did you say that each wind project is subject to the approval of SCIDA, or were you referring specifically to just the Prattsburg project?
If SCIDA is in position to approve/deny each project, what criteria are you setting for each project to meet? I have not been inclined to be politically involved in the past for reasons I will not take the time to explain right now, but this issue violates my core beliefs concerning what I believe America is all about. Bottom line, this boils down to money being offered to leaseholders and Towns to cooperate with this scam built on the back of a real energy need we have. Towns and leaseholders are violating sacred principles in pursuit of money without considering issues that effect people’s rights and safety and are currently willing to sacrifice long term benefits to our region for short term gain.
Are you aware of any program in the energy industry that fits into the nature of our area and competes in revenue with the wind program, yet yields a more substantial effect on our energy needs? How about the ethanol and/or the biomass programs? Is there anything good about either one of those programs that warrants investigation of them prior to commitment to wind energy? I am in the timber industry as you know and we are desperate for local markets for low grade timber. Our industry has been severely affected by the dramatic reduction in the demand for material used to make paper pulp. As a result of importing pre-processed pulp from South America and elevated trucking costs, our market for what we call “scragg” has all but disappeared.
The direct effect this has on timber management is very measurable. When a woods is marked for harvest, not only should mature good quality timber be considered for removal, but the low grade trees that are of no value to the stand because of injury that has effected their quality and health, or it is an undesirable specie, or it is consuming to much of the sun deterring the growth of other more desirable trees, etc, should be considered for removal for the betterment of the stand at the same time we are selectively harvesting desirable trees. The problem is, we cannot pay good wages and run machinery to cut and haul these low grade trees out of a woods when we have no good market for them, so many times they are just left standing in the woods. Prior to the high cost in fuel, this material could by used for paper pulp, masonite products and low grade uses like making pallets.
The negative result of this practice is that a full improvement to a wood lot is not accomplished. Undesirable trees are left to grow and cast their seed producing more of the same. This results in a harvest that we call in the industry a “high-grade harvest”. Therefore because of lack of markets, this cycle gets repeated over and over at each harvest and rather than improving a woods through good forestry practices, many times the woods is left spiraling down in quality. If a biomass plant was to be considered in our County, it might develop a market that we could probably bring this material to and recoup the harvest cost and maybe even make some money and improve the woodlot we are harvesting. There is an abundant supply of this low grade wood just waiting to be utilized. Utilization of this renewable resource seems to fit our region better than the industrialization though the placement of 400 foot high turbines does.
Can a farmer grow a product to feed this biomass plant? Is ethanol a good way to put unproductive crop land into service and help the farmer? Rather than pay farmers not to plant to try to control supply and demand, can they productively contribute to our energy need and make money to help their farm. How can I help? I will wait for your reply.
Sincerely,
Robert C. Strasburg II
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