Even as a feisty grassroots citizen coalition steps up its campaign to block a proposed wind energy farm in southern Somerset County, Md., company officials continue to profess the ultimate success of the $200 million venture.
“The project is still very much on track,” said Adam Cohen, vice president of Pioneer Green Energy of Austin, Texas, who heads the company’s East Coast operations.
As envisioned, the Great Bay Wind Center would consist of a large colony of perhaps 50 wind towers, from which, opponents claim would extend blades 695 feet into the air.
The venture, again as envisioned, would impact an estimated 50 to 60 farms, either for tower construction or for rights-of-way for underground power lines.
Pioneer Green says the project will produce $44.4 million in county tax revenues on top of additional royalties and lease payments to farmers.
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22 comments:
How can Tammy Truitt serve on the Planning Commission and be the leader of the opposition? Isn't that a Conflict of Interest?
And just where do you think the $44.4 million is coming from after Pioneer spends all of their $200 million on windmills?
You guessed it!
$44.4 million over how many years. Article seemed lame to me. Didn't explain much.
How can Commissioners that have been wined and dined by Pioneer Green and have friends and relatives receiving payments not recuse themselves?
I have a problem with the insinuations and no proof by commenters. No one can make a decision based on street talk. Gather facts before repeating "I heards"
Pioneer doesn't have much of a track record according even to their own site.
Anyone who would be in favor of this is not an informed person and quite frankly very ignorant.
Intelligent, thorough forward thinking individuals do not ever allow themselves to be guinea pigs.
If you are going to do business with anyone you do it with a company who has the best most proven track record.
There is too much on the line to be dealing with a company without many references so to speak.
Look what happened when our dopey elected officials opted for the MD Heathcare exchange. The losers cost the tax payers many many more millions then they should have by not doing their research on the company they hired.
It's a shame we have become such a nation of low standard citizens who jump into whatever is the latest cause du jour is without doing any due diligence whatsoever.
What's more disturbing are the politicians who are behind this.
You would think they would want the best for the area but I've come to learn that democrat politicians are repulsive people who could care less about their own families much less anyone else's. They live for themselves and themselves alone.
9:03-rest assured that most "I heards" end up being true.
If you are looking for facts on this issue you aren't going to find much because most info is gathered and sanctioned by wind farm supporters. It's spin and propaganda. If you look closely at even their own brochures they are written in a way to fool people.
Example being they say wind farms can do this and that, they can save this much, they can generate this much. The key word is "CAN."
Smart informed people don't do "CANS." They want and demand to see absolute proof of a claim.
They want to see and demand to see a community where the savings to the residents has been clearly documented with the residents bills. Anything other than this is lip service and no one should ever be satisfied with lip service esp coming out of the mouth of any democrat whose only strength is lying and BSing.
It looks like the planning and zoning commission board is asking Pioneer Green what distance they need so that they can build the ordinance to developer needs rather than public safety.
Answer this, how far can blade fragments be flung on a 690' turbine spinning @ 180 mph? I think the commission should know the answer to this question before establishing setbacks in an ordinance.
The $44.4 million Somerset County thinks it will get has already been dispelled. Paul Harris of Pioneer Green now admits it is $28 million. The sad truth is the county residents will lose way more than that in their properties that will sell for pennies on the dollar if they are even marketable. Who would want to live in a turbine zone?
There are no pros for this BS, it's all contrived corrupt propaganda.
Paul Harris of Pioneer Green is now wooing realtors at the Coastal Realtors Association. Take a close look at the Hoen Real Estate study Pioneer Green uses. It shows very few properties within 2 miles of industrial wind sell. And there is no allowance for properties that are on the market but never sell.
The opposition can't even get the height of the Turbines right. I guess they could since Great Bay gave them a copy of the FAA application which shows 599' or less but they just can't stop lying!
@9:07
Your hilarious. How many businesses in Somerset County were started in the County with no previous business references? Somerset Well, Lankford Sysco, AMPM, Winks, come to mind immediately. Would you like to see those companies gone because they didn't have a long proven record of success when they came here? The idea that we don't want new businesses to start in Somerset actually sounds like the thinking of the ignorant, ill informed populous you reference.
11:59
Millions in county revenue, extra revenue for local farmers, a new local industry and more power seem like pros to me. If you want to see true propaganda check out the oppositions claims. Mass bald eagle kills, blades flying through the air for almost 2 miles, towers nearly 700ft tall (the FAA permits are only good for 599ft), sounds of a jet engine, vibrations that can rattle your teeth out, obstruction to commercial aviation in Crisfield are just a few of the wild myths circulated by the opposition.
1:27 Sysco was a long established business prior to the buying of Lankford Produce, itself a long established Somerset County business, and the formation of Lankford Sysco.
1:33 500 feet is still pretty darn tall. As an example the Washington Monument is 555 ft. tall.
There is plenty of BS propaganda put out by both sides. Maybe if the people trying to sell the idea of wind turbines would spend more time addressing the facts of their product, both good and bad, they might have a better time selling the public on it.
2:03
I think 1:27 was referring to the original business started by Lankford which became Lankford sysco. It was a business started in Somerset County. It was not a business started elsewhere which decided to relocate to Somerset County. I think Pioneer has addressed the facts of there product. I also think the opposition has devoted itself wholly to running Pioneer out no matter what story they must contrive. Safe For Somerset is evidence of this. The site is pure propaganda and as the individual running the page is a well respected research scientist I think he knows well that the vast majority of what he puts up is a complete fabrication. 590ft is tall, very tall. But what makes that specific height a problem vs the heights of local radio and cell towers?
Editorial in The Daily Times on Climate Change
Sent By Jim Ireton 09/22/14 8:18 PM
Yes, there are skeptics about climate change — its existence and its impact.
Yes, there are large swaths of our country that owe their local economic base to fossil fuels including coal and oil.
And, yes, every form of alternative energy, including wind and solar, comes with a certain amount of uncertainty and local concerns.
Nonetheless, the train carrying new forms of energy has left the station, in the United States and worldwide. If you look at a country such as Germany, alternative forms of energy are approaching 30 percent of energy consumption. Needless to say, the German economy is one of the world’s strongest, so that push is being made there not simply by fuzzy “green” activists but by cold-eyed practical business leaders.
When it comes to energy and technology, change is the norm when you look at it historically. Generally, when progress is in the works, it’s best to be out in front of it than to lag behind.
That’s why the Salisbury City Council deserves kudos for considering wind power and solar energy in the rebuilding of the wastewater treatment plant. Similarly, the Wicomico County Department of Public Works deserves praise for its plans to generate significant amounts of solar power at two locations. The county’s plan may lead to all county government electricity coming from solar panels, with the power costing only one-half what it does now.
In Salisbury’s case, Mayor Jim Ireton expects wind and/or solar power to offset electricity costs as the wastewater plant is rebuilt. The mayor sees the potential for job creation, while council members are eyeing both positive financial and environmental impacts.
Says Council President Jacob Day: “In principle, there’s the potential for both saving tax dollars and achieving a more environmentally sustainable and progressive energy source for the city.”
Energy adaptation is much like how we’ve adapted to new telephone technology in the past 25 years. In the 1980s, many of us used rotary dial telephones. These gave way to smaller, push-button models, then portable models and eventually cell phones and now smartphones. And smartphones themselves are morphing into “phablets” as their screen and functionality gets larger.
No one today would want to still be using a rotary dial telephone. In the energy field, older means of production won’t go away completely, but a blend of traditional and alternative sources may indeed serve both the environment and our wallets the best.
IN SUMMATION
As Salisbury and Wicomico County move forward with integrating wind and/or solar into upcoming projects, the potential exists to help the environment and save money.
Authority: Ireton for Maryland. William C. Duck, Jr., Treasurer
The numbers just don't add up. If you look at the numbers for Somerset County, Pennsylvania tax revenue from multiple wind farms that are larger than the one proposed for SC MD they average about $40,000 per farm of 60 turbines or more per year. I know this because I am from SC PA and my parents still live there. I can tell you based on first hand knowledge that no one in SC PA has had their energy bill reduced since the first farms went up in 2003. The power produced by those turbines is sold to New York and New Jersey at premium prices. If you live in SC MD what you have to ask yourself is the revenue to the county, which will never be anywhere near what they are claiming, be worth the destruction of the landscape? If any of you have ever visited the Flt 93 memorial you could not have missed the wind farms in the peripheral. As far as anyone claiming that these turbines are not loud you have no idea what you are talking about. They are very loud and they do shake the ground.
The proposed height is 690 feet. The Navy and USFWS confirms it. You should get your facts from a credible source and not rely on the lying Paul Harris of Pioneer Green.
By the way Paul, where are you living NOW?
Any one that defends Pioneer Green after they have increased turbines heights from 400' to 690' must have a lease contract. Unfortunately, you have signed away your rights and the rights of your neighbors for pennies. It is sad that the fate of Somerset rests in the hands of you and unscrupulous Pioneer Green Energy. Get the facts. Safe For Somerset is requesting responsible setbacks based on manufacturer's guidelines. Attacking someone for advocating for safety shows you have been bought off by Pioneer Green. Please get the facts.
@9:37
Safe for Somerset states on their website that they are against putting turbines in Somerset County. Not that they are for responsible setbacks. I am not a hosting landowner but I support the project. I am just pro business which unfortunately seems to be a rarity in Maryland. The maximum height of the turbines as per their FAA permit is 590 feet, please get your facts straight. The USFWS is not the sanctioning body on this, once again please get your facts straight and rely on a credible source which in this case is the sanctioning body for the height (the FAA). I have been to several wind farms in several states. Never have I heard one that is loud and never have I felt a vibration though the ground.
Neither the Navy or USFWS regulate Turbine height. The FAA regulates Turbine height. The Great Bay application on file states a maximum height of 599'. This is easily confirmed. Whats more all of the Safe for Somerset leadership knows this and chooses to lie!
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