Joining their counterparts from Greece, members of the Webster Town Board have come out in opposition to plans for offshore wind turbines in Lake Ontario or Lake Erie.
Despite the Webster vote and others like it, the New York Power Authority, which is pushing the plan for offshore wind farms, will make no immediate decision on where the farms might be built, a spokeswoman said Friday.
"The Power Authority is keeping its options open concerning the project location in order to listen to the greatest amount of public input possible and to give the many different facets of the general public an opportunity to be heard, including individual citizens, municipal officials and business, environmental, recreational, academic and civic groups," said spokeswoman Connie Cullen.
The Webster board voted 5to0 Thursday night to oppose the authority's proposal for electricity-generating offshore wind farms. The authority has been considering proposals from private wind-energy developers.
"We wanted to side on the side of being cautious, because there's not enough information out there yet. The Power Authority has not provided us with any information," Webster Supervisor Ron Nesbitt said Friday. "If in the future they came forward with information that is more appealing, we could change our position."
The Greece Town Board passed a similar nonbinding resolution two weeks ago. County lawmakers in Wayne, Oswego, Jefferson and Chautauqua counties have come out against the plan. The Niagara County Legislature has endorsed the plan.
"The Webster Town Board listened and acted in the best interests of its residents," said Al Isselhard, a shoreline resident in Wolcott, Wayne County, and a leader of Great Lakes Concerned Citizens.
The group lobbied in Greece and Webster for the resolutions of opposition. Isselhard said the focus shifts to Irondequoit.
A Monroe County legislator from Greece, Republican Rick Antelli, has written a nonbinding resolution of opposition as well. There will be no formal vote, and the period during which other county lawmakers may sign Antelli's resolution has just begun.
The Power Authority said it received five wind-farm proposals on June 1, but it has not revealed any information about them, including where the private-sector developers involved would like to erect their turbines.
A study done for the authority identified five technically suitable areas for wind farms, including a stretch of water in Lake Ontario from Greece on the west to Ontario, Wayne County, on the east, and another off the eastern half of Wayne County. Turbines, which likely would be more than 400 feet tall, would be in clusters two to five miles from the shoreline.
Offshore locations are attractive because winds blow harder and most consistently over water.
Opponents, however, have raised concern about possible aesthetic impact, harm to fishing, boating and tourism, and impact on shoreline property values.
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