yeah but I dont want to have th codes so ridiculous that no one will build them, like the way the neighbiors get over everything else. There are so many rules that make it impossible for people to even put the solar or whatever on the houses over here. The neighbors are called N.I.M.B.Y. for a reason they dont want nothing! For instance my friend I read about the guy on Albany who wanted the solar on his house, and he went to the city but the neighbors said it was ugly, and the city held him up for a year and cost him the lawyer fees ect. If you make it so hard nobody will do anything. Mike wanted a total moratorium one time on everything from a new fence to a tool shed so I am not sure I would go that far Mike sorry. The wind and that is progress so we need to keep the options open for the people to get it so that we can get a lower price on energy in the future, not be stuck with the NiMO holding us hostage like they do

Quoted from 191

yeah but I dont want to have th codes so ridiculous that no one will build them, like the way the neighbiors get over everything else. There are so many rules that make it impossible for people to even put the solar or whatever on the houses over here. The neighbors are called N.I.M.B.Y. for a reason they dont want nothing! For instance my friend I read about the guy on Albany who wanted the solar on his house, and he went to the city but the neighbors said it was ugly, and the city held him up for a year and cost him the lawyer fees ect. If you make it so hard nobody will do anything. Mike wanted a total moratorium one time on everything from a new fence to a tool shed so I am not sure I would go that far Mike sorry. The wind and that is progress so we need to keep the options open for the people to get it so that we can get a lower price on energy in the future, not be stuck with the NiMO holding us hostage like they do

Sal - I don't disagree with your desire to be able to explore, promote, and then implement whatever energy alternatives might be available.  I appreciate your concerns about rules being too prohibitive.  I would, however, want to ensure through regulations (ie: performance standards) that they are implemented with the greatest degree of safety and appropriateness without being unduly restrictive or burdensome.

My advice would be to review the actual legislation and participate in the public hearings.  You've already missed two - one at the Planning Commission and one at the Town Board.  Plus, you had an opportunity to go to Duanesburg meetings before that (our legislation is modeled on theirs) if you truly are concerned with impact of any enacted legislation.

For the record, I am not opposed to wind energy and actually believe the legislation being put forth is reasonable based on my limited expertise on the matter.  In other words, I'm just an average resident like you, but still want some assurance I won't be improperly burdened if I want to build one or my neighbor wants to build one.

As far as your characterization of my desire for a moratorium (yes, I advocate using the very valid land use tool) you have misrepresented what that would entail.  Since I know you have a penchant for hyperbole, exaggeration, and inciting reaction, I'll leave it at that and let you find the places you can learn more about moratoria or the comments I have actually made.  Some are on this board and some are elsewhere.  Contact me and I'll point you in the right direction to get started.

Question for 'anyone'....if a regular resident wanted to erect a wind turbine on their property, assuming it passes all codes and regulations....will their property taxes go up? In other words, will we be taxed on that structure like we are on other structures on our property?

Bum, good question, my gut tells me no.  Let me email our assessor and I will get back to you.

Email to assessor sent....he might be away for the weekend so hold tight.

Thanks Rene.

Quoted from 47

Bum, good question, my gut tells me no.  Let me email our assessor and I will get back to you.

I'll be interested in the response too...I would think it would be considered an improvement that would raise the assessment.

My feeling was that it would increase the assessment also. If they aren't taxed in the beginning...I'm sure it would be eventually....just like everything else.

http://www.dailygazette.com

Quoted Text

Offshore wind power projects gain advocates
BY STEPHANIE S. GARLOW The Associated Press

    WASHINGTON — Visitors to Rehoboth Beach, Del., soon may be greeted by more than sand dunes, seagulls and beach umbrellas. If offshore wind advocates have their way, scores of 140-foot blades will be spinning in the ocean breeze nearly a dozen miles away, barely visible to the sunbathers.
    Offshore wind has taken a back seat to offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in the current energy debate. But those winddriven turbines probably will be operating long before oil platforms appear off Atlantic Coast states.
    Delaware hopes to be the first state to construct a wind farm off its coast. The project, scheduled to be completed in 2012, is one of several offshore wind proposals that have cleared significant hurdles in recent months.
    Proponents say wind offers more longterm energy independence than offshore oil. Residents along the Eastern seaboard are embracing it as a stable-priced, environmentally friendly energy alternative.
    “When people see the price of gas hit $4, they are very open to having discussions about alternatives,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a nonprofit group.
    Wind energy today accounts for only 1 percent of the nation’s electricity. A May report from the Energy Department concluded wind energy could generate 20 percent by 2030, with offshore sources accounting for nearly 20 percent of that. Projects mostly would be located along the Atlantic coast because the seabed floor elsewhere drops off too quickly to anchor turbines.
    In Delaware, offshore wind has caught everyone’s imagination, said Patricia Gearity, a member of Citizens for Clean Power, a grass-roots organization based in the state.
    “People liked that it was homegrown wind, that we weren’t going to import it from somewhere else,” said Jeremy Firestone, a professor of marine policy at the University of Delaware.
    Offshore wind supporters say recent proposals have not faced the same kind of opposition that previously dogged projects off Massachusetts’ Cape Cod and New York’s Long Island. But even on Cape Cod, attitudes are changing. Where critics once held a floating anti-wind farm demonstration, polls show that public opinion has swung in favor of an offshore project.
    The Long Island project was scrapped last year. But fishermen in neighboring New Jersey who once opposed offshore wind power have banded together to submit one of five bids for a 350-megawatt wind farm that would produce enough electricity for up to 100,000 households. Rhode Island may select a developer this fall for a wind energy project.
    Delaware residents took to the blogosphere, called their legislators and turned out in droves at public hearings to push for the proposed project off Rehoboth Beach. It stalled last year, but months of negotiations and strong grass-roots organizing resulted in its approval by the Delaware Legislature in June.
    “During that period of time, you saw headline after headline roll out about the increase in prices, not only in oil, not only in gas, but the big spike in natural gas and propane costs,” said Gearity, a 58-year-old retired lawyer.
    The project, proposed by Bluewater Wind, would include between 60 and 200 wind turbines spaced about a half mile apart. Delmarva Power has agreed to buy electricity from the project for 25 years. Bluewater is owned by the global investment firm Babcock & Brown, which operates wind farms in several states.
    For each turbine, a pole would be hammered about 90 feet below the seabed floor. Another pole would rise above the water with three 140-foot spinning blades at the top. At the highest point, the turbines would reach up about 400 feet; by comparison, the Washington Monument is about 555 feet.
    Unlike its mid-Atlantic neighbor, the Cape Cod project has faced vocal and well-funded opponents who complained it would mar the ocean vista. Rising energy prices have made that argument less persuasive, said Barbara Hill, executive director of Clean Power Now, an independent Hyannis, Mass.-based organization that favors the project.
    The 130-turbine project has now cleared most of the regulatory hurdles and proponents are hopeful it will be in operation within four years.
    Cape Wind Associates, a subsidiary of the New England power company Energy Management Inc., has spent more than $30 million on the Massachusetts project, investing profits from its natural gas-fired power plants, said Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers.
    In New Jersey, Daniel Cohen, the president of the offshore wind developer Fishermen’s Energy, said the organization reassessed its opposition, deciding to view offshore wind as an opportunity, not a threat.
    “The public has a heightened interest to finding solutions in what it sees as a growing problem in our dependence on fossil fuels,” said Cohen, who owns Atlantic Capes Fisheries in Cape May, N.J. Fishing company owners have put up the money for the project’s development stage.
    Significant obstacles to offshore wind still remain.
    Policymakers and utility companies need to commit to long-term contracts, said Firestone, the University of Delaware professor. He pointed out that New Jersey and Rhode Island still do not have buyers for the power from the proposed projects.
    There also needs to be more stability in the federal government’s support for wind power, said Laurie Jodziewicz, manager of siting policy at the American Wind Energy Association. When Congress allowed a renewable energy tax credit to expire in the past — in 2000, 2002 and 2004 — wind capacity installation dropped 93 percent, 73 percent and 77 percent respectively from the previous year. A current tax credit is set to expire Dec. 31.
    Proponents point out that most of the technology hurdles have been cleared, though costs remain high. They look at the almost 1,100 megawatts of offshore wind farms in European waters and say the Cape Cod and other projects could jump-start offshore wind energy in the United States.
    “This will be a game-changer once this project is built,” said Hill, the Cape Wind advocate. “We are going to be dancing on Craigsville Beach someday, looking out and seeing the turbines spinning.”


PHOTO COURTESY OF BLUEWATER WIND The Nysted Offshore Wind Farm in Denmark is an example of the offshore power-generation installations being proposed in the Northeast.

Below is a copy of the email I received from our Town Assessor concerning windmills.  Michael and Bum.....You both win the prize you are correct there would be a change in assessment.  I guess I should have known better

I am looking into valuation guidelines/procedures for both residential &
commercial wind turbines. Since it would be considered real property a
change to the assessment would more than likely happen. A increased
assessment reflects a increased tax bill.

Value is an opinion given by the Assessor/Appraiser based on 3 different
approaches. The cost approach less depreciation is probably the one widely
used at this time.

Once an Assessor/Appraiser is comfortable with valuing wind turbines they
must then be consistent.

Now we will have to see if there really will be a savings with a wind turbine on our property. Not to mention...it may not be a selling point for a prospective buyer of a home with one. It may be a deterrent. It doesn't seem so appealing to me right now. I have to hear more.

Thanks for checking, Rene.

Quoted from bumblethru

Now we will have to see if there really will be a savings with a wind turbine on our property. Not to mention...it may not be a selling point for a prospective buyer of a home with one. It may be a deterrent. It doesn't seem so appealing to me right now. I have to hear more.

I wouldn't think at this time that the tax impact would be overly significant or even that much of a consideration for someone interested in the endeavor.  (Kind of like buying those special lightbulbs...you pay more for them but you're more concerned with saving the planet.)  If I remember right, the gentleman in Duanesburg that was first to propose building one was skeptical it would be cost-effective for him.

Not a problem.  Glad to help.  My husband and I looked into a windmill for our own use.  The cost was exorbitant, around $15,000.  Our National Grid bill runs about $100 per month.  Recoup of investment is about 14 years.  Add to that maintenance, I have no idea what that would involve, and repairs, if any, now the tax increase on a higher assessed value.  It doesn't look as good as originally thought.  Interesting to note that although I had 12 or 13 residents asking for a wind law, no has been beating down the door.  I assume they did cursory homework on the subject as my husband and I did.

Quoted from 47

To Michaels point, what happens when your neighbor constructs a 200 foot wind tower next doorand three years later it falls over on your house or a blade comes off and kills your dog or your child?  What happens when it is constructed and it is located in such a way that there is "light flicker" throughout your entire house that drives you so crazy you end up either in an insane asylum or living with your blinds pulled all day, every day?  As much as I try to keep government involvement at a minimum there are times when you need some performance standards in place.

everyone gets a 'specialized' lawyer.....and 'special' insurance......then we all show up in front of Judge Judy and on the Jerry
Springer show......

Stay outa the Junction.....clean up the Junction...put some pride in the Junction....Clean up Bobby's garage on the Aquafer....Does anyone know where there might be grant money for that mess down there...anyone on this blog live there...Lots of HISTORY falling apart...