Power and Money by WATSON V. CHILDS

In "Profit and Loss on the Perimeter" (October 2006), David Sommerstein seems to have been blown down by more than a little hot air from the perimeter of the whole truth.

New wind-energy power generation receives a federal production tax credit of 1.5 cents per kilowatt of power generated. When the credit expires (currently set for the end of 2007), production costs at sites like Maple Ridge will likely increase twenty-five to fifty percent. Even with the subsidy, production costs are still two to four times that of nuclear power. Future wind-energy production costs (of newer designs) will decrease some, but not much, unless tower height is raised to six hundred or even eight hundred feet to allow unit capacity to be increased, or some significant wind-turbine design breakthrough occurs.

The article implies that Maple Ridge and other proposed sites in combination would displace the pollution of a coal-fired or nuclear power plant (and generate as much power). Displacing the pollution is pretty easy considering the amount of toxic gases and radioactivity released, but generating the same amount of power is pure fantasy. Sites like Maple Ridge will almost certainly have an annual capacity factor well under thirty percent, while nuclear plants had an annual capacity factor of almost ninety percent in 2005 and are expected to do slightly better in 2006.

Payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements are just another subsidy- and a kind of legal corporate extortion. All of the other taxpayers have to pay more than they would if the owners of Maple Ridge actually paid their full and fair share. Payment of "hush money" to the neighbors is an even more despicable practice that should be stopped. Imagine the screaming if one of the six operating nuclear plants in New York State started paying hush money to its neighbors.

Suitable locations on Tug Hill—as well as in and around the Adirondack Park, and on the shores of Lake Ontario—should be considered for development of wind-power generation, and the taxpayers and consumers of electric power in the region should be provided with complete information regarding the costs and subsidies.

WATSON V. CHILDS
WESTDALE, NY