‘Green Rush’ Problems in Windy, N.Y.
Posted on August 19, 2008 under Emergent News, Energy Crisis, Energy Politics & Policy, Renewable Energy, Sustainability,
Some of you may have noticed some very negative news articles in the New York Times regarding wind power developments in northern New York State. There are quite a few topics for discussion among these articles, and if you don’t mind, we’re going to break them up into multiple posts to do justice to each issue. For this post I’d like to focus on what I like to call the ‘Green-Rush,’ similar in many ways to the American gold rush and almost identical to another rush much less spoken about but oh so much more applicable, the American rush for oil at the beginning of the last century.
The idea of ‘green’ has been picking up serious momentum in the economy and media over the past year or so. Companies and individuals are discovering the cold, hard economic benefits of “going green.” These monetary benefits have been compounded with the already existing green benefits, the feel good benefits such as ‘saving the world,’ ‘making a difference,’ or however you want to think about it. With the idea of going green suddenly picking up a whole heck of a lot more substance with this new economic boost, we’re seeing a rush to build, build, build!
To focus down the discussion a bit more, let’s stick to the energy sector. New markets are rapidly emerging all over the country as the price of electricity soars and renewable energy technologies begin to enter the mainstream. Another big reason for this opening of the market is due to the deregulation of the electrical utility sector, where energy companies convinced the government to deregulate the electricity generation and distribution. Utilities sold off their power plants and held on to the actual grid infrastructure like transmission lines and substations. Some psuedo-public companies sold off much of their distribution capabilities, or portions of the grid, to private companies and retained their generating capacity. Some public utilities, like municipal power and light companies, still generate and distribute to a certain degree. This allowed distributed generation into the market, such as utility-scale wind farms and solar arrays.
This open market, with rising electric prices and easy access to developers, has made renewable energy skyrocket in growth and also found itself the new darling of the media. Wind has definitely seen the largest increase in market share as it is currently the most cost-competitive with fossil fuel generation technologies like coal and natural gas. This green rush has been almost completely embraced by the media and society to the point of blind acceptance. Which is where we encounter our hiccup.
Here it comes. . . Who’s seen the movie “There Will Be Blood?” We’re dealing with the same forces in some parts of the nation, namely upstate New York and even in parts of the Midwest. The difference is that today, unlike the 1800s, we have a functioning legal system along with a streamlined communications network, the internet, and media. All this makes for a much more difficult task for wannabe energy tycoons/robber-barons. This green rush equates to hugely lucrative wind developments in a market receptive, but uneducated to the idea of green for wind developers, setting up an unfortunate, sticky situation.
Developers are like kids in a candy store with a pickle jar full of nickels. These developers, boosted by private investment, run around like crazy, grabbing everything in sight and throwing down a big pile of money on the cashiers counter; these developers may have gotten a bit too excited and moved just a little too fast. They have too much opportunity and too little restraint. Sitting outside on the park bench, surrounded by sticky wrappers, half-eaten ‘baby ruth’ bars, and in serious pain, the energy developers may be having second thoughts.
Mommy is not so happy either. The next thing you know there are thirty wind turbines spinning in your backyard and the next thing they know they’re being investigated by Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General of New York State, for anti-competitive practices and improper dealings with local town officials (read: bribing or corruption). While the investigation is ongoing and in our system you are innocent until proven guilty, one thing is for certain: Wind developers have put a bitter taste in the mouths of many New York State residents.
It is a shame the move toward wind in upstate New York has seen this hitch. New York is the perfect place for wind development. Electric prices are higher than in the Midwest, the wind is great, and there is a lot of open space. Farmland is perhaps the single best place for wind development as the land can still be utilized for farming with the turbines serving as an added ‘crop.’ Farmers are literally expanding their farming by harvesting one more crop, the wind. With the recent economic slump hurting even more due to skyrocketing electric prices, an additional crop means increased yearly income from wind turbines; this can be the perfect solution for struggling farmers in economically depressed areas. Can be. Can be. . . if done correctly and with those farmers involved and in mind.
Now everyone is beginning to learn, to realize we’re rushing perhaps a bit too recklessly into our renewable energy future. We can, and should, continue at a fast clip, as renewable energy is essential to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and help reduce the impacts of global warming. And time we have not. We should move quickly, but smartly.
We must proceed forward hand in hand. Wind developers have seen their competitors trip up in the green rush and communities are seeing their neighbors rethink decisions that are up and spinning in the wind. Fortunately, there is a way forward that will work for everyone.
There are companies, like our own, Emergent Energy Group, that practice community-focused wind development, employing transparent and open development processes. We work with communities to design and develop projects that meet local needs and provide real local benefits. Because, truly, there is enough to go around. And it’s exciting. Wind development really is very exciting. Wind power is a vast opportunity and when it’s approached in the right way, we all win.
Some of you may have noticed some very negative news articles in the New York Times regarding wind power developments in northern New York State. There are quite a few topics for discussion among these articles, and if you don’t mind, we’re going to break them up into multiple posts to do justice to each issue. For this post I’d like to focus on what I like to call the ‘Green-Rush,’ similar in many ways to the American gold rush and almost identical to another rush much less spoken about but oh so much more applicable, the American rush for oil at the beginning of the last century.
The idea of ‘green’ has been picking up serious momentum in the economy and media over the past year or so. Companies and individuals are discovering the cold, hard economic benefits of “going green.” These monetary benefits have been compounded with the already existing green benefits, the feel good benefits such as ‘saving the world,’ ‘making a difference,’ or however you want to think about it. With the idea of going green suddenly picking up a whole heck of a lot more substance with this new economic boost, we’re seeing a rush to build, build, build!
To focus down the discussion a bit more, let’s stick to the energy sector. New markets are rapidly emerging all over the country as the price of electricity soars and renewable energy technologies begin to enter the mainstream. Another big reason for this opening of the market is due to the deregulation of the electrical utility sector, where energy companies convinced the government to deregulate the electricity generation and distribution. Utilities sold off their power plants and held on to the actual grid infrastructure like transmission lines and substations. Some psuedo-public companies sold off much of their distribution capabilities, or portions of the grid, to private companies and retained their generating capacity. Some public utilities, like municipal power and light companies, still generate and distribute to a certain degree. This allowed distributed generation into the market, such as utility-scale wind farms and solar arrays.
This open market, with rising electric prices and easy access to developers, has made renewable energy skyrocket in growth and also found itself the new darling of the media. Wind has definitely seen the largest increase in market share as it is currently the most cost-competitive with fossil fuel generation technologies like coal and natural gas. This green rush has been almost completely embraced by the media and society to the point of blind acceptance. Which is where we encounter our hiccup.
Here it comes. . . Who’s seen the movie “There Will Be Blood?” We’re dealing with the same forces in some parts of the nation, namely upstate New York and even in parts of the Midwest. The difference is that today, unlike the 1800s, we have a functioning legal system along with a streamlined communications network, the internet, and media. All this makes for a much more difficult task for wannabe energy tycoons/robber-barons. This green rush equates to hugely lucrative wind developments in a market receptive, but uneducated to the idea of green for wind developers, setting up an unfortunate, sticky situation.
Developers are like kids in a candy store with a pickle jar full of nickels. These developers, boosted by private investment, run around like crazy, grabbing everything in sight and throwing down a big pile of money on the cashiers counter; these developers may have gotten a bit too excited and moved just a little too fast. They have too much opportunity and too little restraint. Sitting outside on the park bench, surrounded by sticky wrappers, half-eaten ‘baby ruth’ bars, and in serious pain, the energy developers may be having second thoughts.
Mommy is not so happy either. The next thing you know there are thirty wind turbines spinning in your backyard and the next thing they know they’re being investigated by Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General of New York State, for anti-competitive practices and improper dealings with local town officials (read: bribing or corruption). While the investigation is ongoing and in our system you are innocent until proven guilty, one thing is for certain: Wind developers have put a bitter taste in the mouths of many New York State residents.
It is a shame the move toward wind in upstate New York has seen this hitch. New York is the perfect place for wind development. Electric prices are higher than in the Midwest, the wind is great, and there is a lot of open space. Farmland is perhaps the single best place for wind development as the land can still be utilized for farming with the turbines serving as an added ‘crop.’ Farmers are literally expanding their farming by harvesting one more crop, the wind. With the recent economic slump hurting even more due to skyrocketing electric prices, an additional crop means increased yearly income from wind turbines; this can be the perfect solution for struggling farmers in economically depressed areas. Can be. Can be. . . if done correctly and with those farmers involved and in mind.
Now everyone is beginning to learn, to realize we’re rushing perhaps a bit too recklessly into our renewable energy future. We can, and should, continue at a fast clip, as renewable energy is essential to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and help reduce the impacts of global warming. And time we have not. We should move quickly, but smartly.
We must proceed forward hand in hand. Wind developers have seen their competitors trip up in the green rush and communities are seeing their neighbors rethink decisions that are up and spinning in the wind. Fortunately, there is a way forward that will work for everyone.
There are companies, like our own, Emergent Energy Group, that practice community-focused wind development, employing transparent and open development processes. We work with communities to design and develop projects that meet local needs and provide real local benefits. Because, truly, there is enough to go around. And it’s exciting. Wind development really is very exciting. Wind power is a vast opportunity and when it’s approached in the right way, we all win.
