An opinion on Evil-drola from New York

March 27, 2008 by Jimmy Salamone in The Evening Times

What do wind developers look for in a county and its township before putting their cross hairs on them? My thoughts.

Iberdrola is the largest foreign wind company in the world worth multi-billions of dollars, then you have PPM Energy who is an artery off Iberdrola. Common sense tells me money is power in the political world. These companies will stop at nothing to make as much money as possible for themselves and their colleagues.

I think they scope out elected officials to see if they have any moral or ethical values, using a proverb like "they will fall for anything, because they stand for nothing." They found Herkimer County. They came in under the cover of darkness, behind closed doors and found their scarecrows.

A scarecrow is a landowner who signs a contract to have industrial wind turbine erected on their land for money, but they must sign a contract that says they cannot bring a suit against the developers due to any nuisances (ill-effects, though the developer says there are none) the turbines cause them or their family. They can't speak out, they have no mouth, they can't come forward, they have no legs. Even if they wanted to do what is right they can't, they are just scarecrows hanging in a field of weeds. After all these are just "wind farms" we milk the wind , sounds stupid doesn't it? It took a genius to mastermind this one, so no one pays any industrial land tax on a single acre of land encompassed in the footprint, thus the towns lose the land taxes. The only thing they are milking are the New York state taxpayers. It's perfect.

Then they have the non-participating homeowner stuck living within the project's footprint, citizens with great concerns about being triangulated with 400 feet high wind turbines, high tension wires going around their homes, rotors as big as a jet spinning on the skyline in front, back, and sides of their homes, and more importantly, people with medical conditions with potential adverse effects. The developers call these citizens the "N" word, "NIMBY" (not in my backyard), making it look like they're against wind energy and change. A total lie!

It would appear that the Iberdrola corporation and PPM Energy could care less about the citizens. I think they want total control over the land, as it means huge money to them. I believe that's what it's all about, money not energy needs.

Now Iberdrola , PPM Energy and the AWEA (American Wind Energy Association) are coming out with a book on how to fight NIMBY's. Don't take my word on it, ask Eric Blank, executive vice president of the Development Division of Iberdrola, or Sam Enfield, wind energy development for PPM Energy. It's pretty sad when New York state citizens are subjected to any sick prejudice for any reason, let alone for the idealization of money.

Jimmy Salamone3/27 The Evening Times