A recent letter about the Jordanville Wind Project oversimplifies the opposition of the Holy Trinity Monastery and others to the location of the proposed wind farm.
The monks are not selfishly choosing serenity over clean energy. Rather, their concerns speak to a larger issue: the impact of industrial-scale wind turbine projects on New York's historic, scenic and cultural resources.
In fact, the Preservation League of New York State named the Holy Trinity Monastery to our Seven to Save list of endangered places this month in part to call attention to the need for statewide siting standards for wind energy projects.
It's not only the Holy Trinity Monastery that is threatened by insensitively sited wind projects. Other sites in the Glimmerglass and Mohawk Valley regions, rich with historic structures and significant landscapes, face similar threats from industrial-scale wind energy development.
Early identification, acknowledgment and protection of historic resources is required to ensure that proposed wind farms are properly sited in order to protect the special character of historic communities and sites across the state.
We agree that New York's renewable energy goals are critically important, but development must be balanced with protection of cultural resources.
JAY A. DILORENZO
President Preservation League of NYS
Albany
jdilorenzo@preservenys.org
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