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A downstate lawmaker is not ready to give up on placing turbines in Lake Erie. During a session of the New York state Senate last week,
Sen. Pete Harckham, who is chairman of the Committee on Environmental Conservation, put forth a bill to expedite a pilot project to assess the viability of wind resources from the Great Lakes.
"The New York State Energy Research and Aevelopment Authority (NYSERDA) is hereby authorized and directed to issue a solicitation for the procurement of up to 200 megawatts of offshore wind renewable energy certificates generated by offshore wind located in Lake Erie. The pilot solicitation shall take similar form and structure to the most recent solicitation NYSERDA issued for Atlantic Ocean offshore wind development … with appropriate modifications given the differences between salt water and fresh water offshore development," noted the bill put forth on May 17.
In a report issued before the new year, a NYSERDA feasibility study did not support the placement of turbines in the Great Lakes of Erie and Ontario. In creating the analysis, the authority took into consideration a number of factors that included: physical siting, geophysical and geohazards characterization, fixed and floating technology options, interconnection, environmental risk and benefit as well as public feedback.
"Great Lakes Wind currently does not offer a unique, critical, or cost-effective contribution toward the achievement of New York State's Climate Act goals beyond what existing, more cost-competitive programs are currently expected to deliver," the study says. "This conclusion is based on a fulsome analysis of the resource development costs, ratepayer impacts, expected State benefits, transmission and interconnection limitations, infrastructure and supply chain constraints, visual impacts, and potential environmental impacts of Great Lakes Wind, as discussed below and throughout the Feasibility Study."
Harckham's effort does not mention the study. However, he fully supports the state's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which is referenced in the bill. That program sets an annual cap on the amount of greenhouse gas pollution that is permitted to be emitted in New York. The declining cap ensures annual emissions are reduced, setting the state on a trajectory to meet our greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements of 40% by 2030, and at least 85% from 1990 levels by 2050.
Harckham represents Westchester and the Hudson Valley region in the 40th Senate District. That is north of New York City.
In Western New York, the group CAWTILE -- Citizens Against Wind Turbines in Lake Erie -- met earlier this week to discuss action that included sending letter of opposition to the plan. They -- and others that include the North County Water District -- are concerned that the water qualitywould be impacted by potential pollutants entering the water from the construction and operation of the turbines.
Currently, the Ball Hill Wind Farm is under construction in the towns of Hanover and Villenova. The nearly 600-foot tall towers are being delivered with State Police escort at a rate of 2.5 turbines per week, according to the Northland Power Facebook site.