September 17, 2009
Mr. Patrick Gilman
Environmental Specialist
Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
US Department of Energy
Dear Mr. Gilman:
Thank you for your response to my letter to Secretary Chu. I am dismayed to find that your letter simply parrots many of the falsehoods promoted by the wind turbine industry and the AWEA. You state that the “Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program works to foster the responsible development of windpower so that local communities can enjoy its benefits.”
I am a member of the planning board in the town of Lyme, New York and I can tell you we, and other nearby communities, are currently under siege by wind developers. I can tell you that these organizations have not acted responsibly. The construction of wind turbines has been so over-incentivized by the federal and New York State governments that they are in the process of trying to steamroll our local governments into allowing them to put up turbines wherever they please. They arrive like thieves in the night, making secret agreements with the large landowners. When the towns finally are advised of their intention to put up turbines, we are faced with a group of citizens who have contracts, have been given money and are organized by professional PR firms hired by the developers into a potent political force favoring the developer’s plan. This group also includes some of the town’s officials.
It is extremely difficult, under these prejudicial circumstances to develop a fair local zoning regulation to control the siting of these turbines to protect citizens from effects such as noise, shadow flicker, diversion of groundwater, destruction of the view, the night sky destroyed by strobe lights and the resulting loss of property values. Where are the benefits of which you speak?
You cite the report published last year by DOE, setting a goal of 20% of the nation’s electricity supplied by windpower. This is a preposterous idea and I and other technically qualified people who have reviewed this report, find no support for its conclusions and it appears to be yet another piece of propaganda generated by the AWEA. You claim that 20% of Denmark’s power is generated by wind. Please review the article attached below explaining that figure and note that Denmark pays $0.38 per kW-hr compared to $0.08 in the US.
The installation of these large industrial wind turbines is one of the most environmentally destructive activities I have seen. Large tracts of land are ruined during construction of these facilities. They should certainly not be placed in or near areas of human habitation and certainly should not be permitted in the nation’s scenic areas. We happen to live in such an area known as the Thousand Islands. It is about to be ruined as a scenic area by the installation of hundreds of giant wind turbines. This will result in the destruction of many local jobs in the local vacationer/cottager based economy as well as significant loss of property values. I was hopeful that Secretary Chu, being a scientist, would put an end to this madness. I am both disappointed and outraged.
Sincerely,
Albert H. Bowers III
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