Tag Archives: Wolfe Island wind turbines

Wind farm jobs temporary says Watertown area legislator: support for project overstated

13 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by in Renewable energy, Wind power

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Watertown Daily Times, March 12, 2015

When it came to proclaiming widespread support for another Galloo Island wind farm project, a member of the Jefferson County Board of Legislators believes that Donald C. Alexander counted his chickens before they hatched.

Mr. Alexander, chief executive officer of the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency, said in a story Friday in the Watertown Daily Times that a wind farm being proposed by the Albany-based Hudson Energy Development LLC shouldn’t be as controversial as the previous project pursued by Upstate NY Power Corp. of West Seneca. A payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement proposed by Upstate NY Power Corp. was approved unanimously in 2010 by the town of Hounsfield and Sackets Harbor Central School District. But it narrowly made it through the county legislature by an 8-7 vote after a protracted and contentious debate.

The latest plan calls for an underwater transmission line rather than an overland line, an idea that made the previous project so objectionable. No land line should make the project more amenable to opponents, Mr. Alexander claimed.

County Legislator Scott A. Gray, however, believes Mr. Alexander has painted too rosy a picture. He said there doesn’t appear to be sufficient support on the legislature for a PILOT agreement this time around.

“Mr. Gray said Donald C. Alexander has misrepresented support for a 20-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement planned by Hudson Energy Development LLC of Albany without giving the Board of Legislators time to learn about the 32-turbine, 106-megawatt proposal,” according to a story Monday in the Watertown Daily Times. “Given the number of legislators who probably would oppose a PILOT, Mr. Gray said, he believes Mr. Alexander has publicly misrepresented the level of support expected for the project.”

“Basically, he’s blatantly trying to back us into a corner by positioning this like it shouldn’t be a problem and is going to be approved by all of the taxing jurisdictions,” said Mr. Gray, who also sits on the JCIDA board. “So if something happens and it fails at our board, we accept the blame for killing the project.”

A PILOT for this project would result in Hudson paying less than a third of what it would without the agreement. The three taxing jurisdictions would give up $2.22 million a year for 20 years – a total of $44.4 million. For a proposed wind farm that provides essentially no local jobs, this doesn’t make sense.

No long-term economic benefit

About the only jobs it would create are those for the construction workers contracted to prepare the site and build the wind turbines. While those jobs are attractive, they disappear after the construction is completed. Relatively few people — and they would be highly skilled, outside contractors well-versed in high-tech turbine maintenance — would be required to maintain the turbines, so there would be virtually no long-term economic benefit for the region.

Mr. Alexander also dismisses concerns about a landscape dotted with towering turbines, which he described as the “size of a thimble.” Each proposed turbine is taller than those on Wolfe Island, which are visible from Thompson Park in the city.

This curious characterization of the turbines led Paul J. Warneck, director of Jefferson County Real Property Tax Services, to observe:

“I think for Don Alexander to minimize the impact as it relates to the south end of Cape Vincent, town of Lyme and town of Henderson is a mistake and ill conceived. There’s no doubt in my mind, depending on how they light these towers, that they’ll be seen from that distance. The supporters who believe you’re not going to see them are just totally misleading the public. When you’re fishing on Galloo Island, you can plainly see the Wolfe Island turbines — and they’re about 15 miles away.”

PILOTs should be reserved for projects that contribute ongoing benefits to the local economy. The loss in property taxes can be mitigated by the increase in permanent employment opportunities. More people with good-paying jobs will spend their discretionary income in the area.

If Hudson Energy wishes to construct a wind farm on Galloo Island, it must compensate all Jefferson County residents by being required to pay its full share of property taxes. Questions over why taxpayers should underwrite a project that provides no permanent jobs and whether it would create a visible impact on the pristine nature of the eastern basin of Lake Ontario make this proposal a poor candidate for any PILOT agreement.

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See original article for comments: “Wind not wanted in this area.”

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Wind turbines cause property values to drop: U.S. Realtors

03 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by in Renewable energy, Wind power

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Here from the Watertown Daily Times is an account of the effect on property values at Cape Vincent, which is across the St Lawrence from Wolfe Island, and where BP Energy was also planning a wind power project, now cancelled.

Realtors say Wolfe Island wind turbines caused waterfront home prices to plummet

By TED BOOKER
TIMES STAFF WRITER
PUBLISHED: SUNDAY, JUNE 1, 2014 AT 12:30 AM

CAPE VINCENT — Realtors say the value of waterfront homes in the town has slid steeply over the past five years due to the eyesore of Wolfe Island Wind Farm, creating a buyer’s market for those who don’t mind looking out at turbines.

Amanda J. Miller, broker/owner of Lake Ontario Realty, Chaumont, said brokers recently have sold waterfront homes on Tibbetts Point Road off the St. Lawrence River for up to $300,000 less than they were priced at five years ago. The 86-turbine wind farm on Wolfe Island, Ontario, was built from summer 2008 to June 2009.

In one case, “a couple of years ago we had a waterfront house that sold for $300,000 that was in the mid-$600,000 range before,” Ms. Miller said.

Though few waterfront homes on Tibbetts Point Road have been sold in the past five years, Ms. Miller said there recently has been an uptick in buying activity. She said that brokers sold three waterfront homes during the past year. Those homes, previously listed in the $700,000 to $800,000 range, sold for $515,000, $530,000 and $615,000. She said that buying activity increased after the news in February that BP Wind Energy abandoned its 285-megawatt Cape Vincent Wind Farm project.

“Property values on Tibbetts Point Road started declining about five years ago, but it’s pretty much bottomed out now and things are starting to sell again,” Ms. Miller said. “A lot of people who struggled to sell their homes had to drop their prices. But I think things are going to start to slowly repair themselves, because the Cape Vincent Wind Farm battle is over.”

Ms. Miller said a “cloud was lifted off the market” when the BP Wind Energy project was scrapped, boosting the confidence of buyers to invest in waterfront property. She said there will continue to be a pool of buyers who are interested in buying affordable waterfront property and are willing to put up with the view of Wolfe Island Wind Farm.

“There’s no more questioning about whether something might happen that will further affect values,” she said. “Now you’re only left with dealing with the wind farm on Wolfe Island, and people are starting to realize the real battle is over — whether they’re pro- or anti-wind. The burden has been lifted and the market will rebound.”

Cape Vincent Assessor Denise J. Trudell said the value of high-end waterfront properties on Tibbetts Point Road has gradually slid in recent years because of an undesirable view of Wolfe Island Wind Farm. As an example, she cited a home at 32519 Tibbetts Point Road that was sold for $700,000 in 2007; it sold in March for $510,000.

“Homeowners don’t think their property is worth as much because the view is not as desirable as what it used to be,” Ms. Trudell said. “I would say there has definitely been a decline in people looking for that type of high-end property. It has certainly had an effect on the property values along that area. But it all depends on how you want to look at it. I had a property owner two weeks ago tell me they find (the turbines) enchanting and like the view.”

Lesa M. Plantz, broker for Prudential 1000 Realty of Clayton, said that some buyers are attracted to homes on Tibbetts Point Road because prices have sharply fallen since turbines were erected on Wolfe Island. But until recently, there haven’t been many buyers interested in the waterfront property.

“When the windmills were first out there, absolutely nothing sold,” Mrs. Plantz said. “And with the continuing controversy going on with the windmill issue in the Cape, there was definitely a steady decline in sales. We had property sit for a couple of years that would have normally been sold in a couple of months.”

The better waterfront properties will never hold their values as long as wind turbines are on Wolfe Island

To illustrate that point, she said that a three-bedroom, 2,411-square-foot waterfront house on Tibbetts Point Road that was listed for sale for nearly $800,000 in 2010 gradually declined in price until it was sold in March for $515,000. The price of that home had fallen to $625,000 in 2012, and then to $569,000 in 2013 before dropping to its final sale price.

But Mrs. Plantz said she expects that buyers will become more confident in the market now that BP Wind Energy’s massive project is dead. She said an increasing number of waterfront properties in Cape Vincent has been listed for sale in the past year.

“Last year, we had a lot more waterfront homes listed, and this year there are definitely more homes on the market,” she said. “Sales are trending back up.”

While the view of turbines on Wolfe Island has been upsetting for some homeowners, buyers have jumped on the opportunity to purchase homes affected by the wind farm for lower prices, Mrs. Plantz said.

“It’s gone both ways,” she said. “It’s helped people looking for more affordable waterfront property who can overlook the situation with the windmills on Wolfe Island. But of course there are a lot of people that don’t like them.”

Trude B. Fitelson, a broker for Prudential 1000 Realty who has sold waterfront property for 24 years in the Thousand Islands region, said property values in Cape Vincent will never rebound because of the presence of Wolfe Island Wind Farm.

“The better waterfront properties will never hold their values as long as wind turbines are on Wolfe Island,” Ms. Fitelson said. “Your sophisticated buyer with a sense of design and architecture who wants something on the water is not going to want to look at those turbines. That’s not going to be their cup of tea. They’ll come up toward Clayton and Alexandria Bay because they won’t want to be there.”

 

Amherst Island community tearing apart: “No way would anything this tall with this opposition be built in the city”

15 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by in Renewable energy, Wind power

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Amherst Island is a small community offshore from Kingston, Ontario, which if Toronto-based wind power developer Algonquin Power gets its way, will soon be populated by as many as 37 huge wind turbines.

The community has been ripped apart by the controversy, as is becoming typical for rural Ontario communities where farm owners want the revenue from leasing their land for the turbines, while other residents worry about health and property values.

Here is a feature article from this week’s Farmer’s Forum, by Patrick Meagher. http://www.farmersforum.com/DEC2012/p12.htm

 

The big chill

Eastern Ontario’s latest battle over wind turbines reveals another divided community

 

By Patrick Meagher

 

AMHERST ISLAND — Bruce Caughey is the only dairy farmer on the 20-kilometre long Amherst Island, a three-kilometre offshore ferry ride west of Kingston. In 1970, there were 28.

Times have changed. Looks like they’re changing again.

If Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has its way, there will be 33 to 37 new wind turbines, each standing 50 storeys tall, on the humble island. Contracts have been signed, so Caughey expects to see eight of them from his back window.

“This is not a popular project,” he said, noting that the year-round population of about 410 people (2011 census) are overwhelmingly against it. Some say the issue has defined people by who now waves to whom.

“You can have differences of opinion,” Caughey said. “Most people rise above that. There are lots of social things we still enjoy together. Most people get along.”

Amherst Island is the typical story of many small Ontario communities where ugly battles have erupted over a landowner’s right to do what he wants on his property versus the neighbour’s right to the enjoyment of his property.

Despite worry about killing birds, the biggest issues are health concerns caused by the turbines and having to look at them. You can see the turbines towering over neighbouring Wolfe Island from the grassy southeast. To some they look good. To others they don’t. To some who lease land for a turbine, they look like money, up to $15,000 per year. Others cynically said the island will become a factory. The ones on Amherst will be taller by 20 to 30 metres, reaching 150 metres from ground to the tip of a vertical blade.

Caughey visited a farmer with three turbines on Wolfe Island and was struck by the “haunting” afternoon shadow but also the noise. The farmer told him they can sometimes sound like a jet plane taking off. A neighbour and a visiting veterinarian said they have heard it too.

“The only people getting a return are the landowners but we’re all going to enjoy them or not,” said Caughey, who once considered signing up for a turbine.

The setback is 550 metres but Caughey agreed with others that setbacks from homes should be at least one kilometre.

Local councilor for Loyalist Township, Duncan Ashley, lives on the island and said that in 18 years in municipal politics this issue is by far the most divisive. “Without a doubt,” he said. “Nothing comes close. This is tearing the community apart.”

Farmers Forum conducted a survey of 200 of Wolfe Island’s residents last year and the most significant conclusion was that 28.5 per cent of respondents said that community spirit had gotten worse since 86 turbines were erected in 2009.

Even though Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a priority points system that sends projects that are not community-supported to the bottom of the list, Ashley said he has not seen any legislation that gives municipalities power to stop a project. “Municipality rights have been stripped,” he said.

Some road work has been done to bring in the wind turbines and the province is considering a multi-million dollar upgrade of the ferry but the wind project has yet to be approved.

The president of the Association for the Protection of Amherst Island, Peter Large, said that 15 to 18 landowners have signed a deal to get a wind turbine but 200 people have signed on with the association in protest, representing the “vast majority” of the year-round adult population.

Large makes numerous arguments but there are two that stand out: health concerns and lack of local autonomy.

There’s no way that a building this tall would be approved in a city with such overwhelming opposition from the community, he said, adding that there is no local input, no hearing and no appeal process. “This in itself is unthinkable.”

The many health concerns from existing wind projects are now being studied by Health Canada, which expects to reach conclusions in about two years.

One concern, which has rarely been discussed in the news media, is the shadow flicker or strobe light effect created by the setting sun passing behind the turning blades and casting long but interrupted shadows into homes. (Google “wind turbine shadow flicker” and see the shadow action for yourself.)

Loyalist Township planner Murray Beckel said that if the project is approved he suspects turbine construction will not start until 2014, as the company first needs to hold a second open house in the new year and then provide numerous reports to the Ministry of Environment and obtain various permits. The ministry will need about six months to respond to the report package, he said.

But while the opposition has the numbers this is far from a one-sided battle. The pro-wind group has the law on its side. It also has long-time residents, mostly farming families, said sheep farmer Dave Willard, who stands to gain from two wind turbines on his property. “Every traditional island family that has been here for three, four, five generations are all on side but one (dairy farmer Bruce Caughy),” he said. “I can’t think of one other long-term island family that is opposed. Almost everyone with 100 acres signed on.”

He added that some families signed on but didn’t get a turbine and will still earn $2,500 a year for the 20-year term of the project.

“I don’t like being dictated to by a group of newcomers (fewer than 30 years),” Willard protested. “They don’t have historical authority. They didn’t raise their kids here.”

Editor’s note: APAI is a sister organization to Ottawa Wind Concerns, as group members of Wind Concerns Ontario. http://www.windconcernsontario.ca