Over the last few months, I have heard more and more about the proposals for the Wind Farms in Cohocton. I spent 20 years of my life in this sleepy little town, and I wouldn't change it for anything! Especially not something that is going to be unsafe for the environment and the people. The moment that a question could not be answered, is the moment that the whole thing should have been thrown away.
When I heard about the Wind Farm proposal and UPC Wind, I asked myself numerous questions:
What will it take to build these wind turbines? It will take 10-30+ acres of land, and over $2 million per wind turbine. Not to mention the destruction of the roads and land to transport them to their respective construction site.
Who is going to pay to fix the roads after UPC Wind comes in here and tears them up to get their monstrous machines onto our hills? WE are going to pay as taxpayers. We are the ones that pay to make sure our roads are kept in good shape.
Where will they get the materials to widen and construct new roadways? According to websites from around the world...they make "borrow pits" and hope that the surrounding towns do not notice them blasting apart land. They don't buy the materials locally they make or acquire them locally!
Who is going to benefit from these Turbines? UPC Wind and NEW YORK CITY! Our electricity isn't going to get cheaper, because all of this "Saved wind Energy" is going to the New York City grid!
How much more in taxes will each resident of Cohocton have to pay? No one really knows. Supposedly, UPC wind will be paying taxes to our towns for using our land. It seems that the only money they will be paying is the ridiculously minute amount that the lease holders will receive.
Will this impact the environment? I read an article on a hydraulic failure on a 1.5 MW turbine. It dumped 160 gallons of hydraulic fluid into the ground which seeped into the drinking water for a local town. Another article I read mentioned that the wind turbines had killed over 700 bats within a period of 6 weeks. I've also seen pictures of birds and owls that have been murdered by the turbine blades.
What kind of damages can these Turbines cause? Besides the mechanical failures that can cause hydraulic fluid to leak, many reports have been made that these turbines can malfunction and spin out of control, throwing debris over 250 meters. If they catch on fire, nothing can be done accept watch and hope that all of the surrounding land doesn’t catch on fire. They fling large chunks of ice which can be deadly projectiles. Lighting strikes cause pieces to fly off and be thrown, need I say more?
What about the shadow effect from these Turbines? If you know someone who is epileptic, you know exactly what I'm talking about! The shadow effect or "strobe" effect from these turbines can cause an epileptic to go into a seizure.
How loud are they? Apparently, they are as loud and an idling jet engine at 750ft away. Add a little bit of humidity and some wind that blows towards town and it amplifies that noise a great deal.
And now I ask...What exactly does UPC stand for? It's amazing, that when a close friend of mine asked what UPC stood for, the person they asked who works for this company couldn't even give them an answer.
I'm pretty sure by now, you get my point! There is nothing I can say or research that would benefit our small town of about 1,000 people. It will benefit certain people, who sign over their land to build these wind farms, by giving these people a small amount of money, compared to the millions that this power company will make from the energy they will generate.
Many landowners are going to lose land. Surrounding land owners are going to lose building privileges. Farmers are going to lose rich farming soil, their land, and possibly lose buildings and livestock due to damage caused by these Turbines.
People on Brown Hill, Dutch Hill, Lent Hill, Pine Hill....the damage that these Turbines can cause, can be devastating. I've seen reports and pictures of ice and debris flying over 250 meters penetrating buildings, entire turbines collapsing, catching on fire. Have you seen what lightning does to a tree or a house? Picture lighting hitting a 500 foot Wind Turbine!
The transport of these enormous monstrosities can cause fatal accidents. A crane has already tipped over at Foster Wheeler while unloading a Turbine base. What would have happened if someone had gotten killed or injured from this? Would it make people think twice about being for or against this proposal? I'm not sure!
I wonder every day if these lease holders, town seats, and power companies realize the impacts that this proposal will have upon this town and the amazing people that live in it. This proposal, in my opinion, is in no way a positive one for this town.
I have served this country for the past four years and the words and actions expressed by our community leaders have angered me. Daily, we have many men and women fighting and dying to protect the rights that we have come to know, that many have taken for granted. The property rights that are in danger of being violently stripped away from so many of our community’s land owners is unbelievable. Why is it that many feel they can just take away those rights?
For those of you who are for this, I pray for you and every other person who will have to suffer from the end result. And for those that are against it, I stand behind you all 110%. I hope that in some way this may change the minds of those who are blind to the consequences, and also change the minds of those who are full of greed. There is no amount of money in the world, worth the well-being of our community.
I have included references from some of the sites I have personally researched. If you are one that is against this proposal then you have done your research and are possibly aware of some of the things that I have mentioned. If you are for this proposal, then I hope that you will consider doing more research into the “cons”, rather than ignore them and think of nothing other than the “pros” of this proposal. And, if you don’t care or you’re not sure, then all I can do is hope that you will read this and trust my findings and opinions to help you make your decision.
Tiffany M. Washburn (Weber)
http://www.stopillwind.org/downloads/WindTurbineAccidentComp.pdf
http://www.powernaturally.com/Programs/Wind/toolkit/7_visualimpactupfront.pdf
http://www.eswr.com/latest/307/nrcwind.htm
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hills/cc/gallery/index.htm#photos
http://www.wind-watch.org/
http://capecodliving.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html
These are just a handful of the places that I have gotten my opinions from. What says that some, if not all of these problems will or will not arise in Cohocton?
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