Hamburg, N.Y. (WBEN) - Over the course of the last several months, activists and other government officials have been pushing to fight the construction of wind turbines in the Great Lakes.
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From protests held by local activist groups to legislation being presented to the federal government, the idea of wind turbines in Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes has been pushed back on hard at all levels.
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"There's certainly a vocal group, myself included, that are vehemently opposed to this," said State Senator George Borrello on the proposed wind turbines in Lake Erie. "I think if most people in Western New York knew what was going on and knew the risks, I think most people in Western New York would absolutely be against it. I think the Governor and those folks that are pushing this - the special interests, the people that are gonna make money off of this - they know this, because this has not been an open process."
Members of the Town of Hamburg are also well-aware of the movement against the wind turbines in the Great Lakes. Leaders like Town Supervisor Randy Hoak say they continue to reach out to town residents to get a gauge of how people continue to feel about a situation that is being regarded as a potential environmental hazard.
"One of the tough parts about that is getting good, actual and factual information," said Hoak on the matter. "I look to the various nonprofits that are looking at the environmental concerns. Looking forward to the results of the feasibility study that is being conducted so that if it is, indeed, appropriate for the town to weigh in, we can do so with factual and nonpartisan information."
A NYSERDA study was done months ago to determine the viability of wind turbines in the Great Lakes. According to wind turbine activists, there will not even a public comment period in the NYSERDA plan for implementation of the turbines until after permitting and procurement and construction contracts are awarded.
"There's always this talk from this 'wait and see' attitude from the Democrat members of the State Legislature here in Western New York. I truly believe they understand that this is going to be a problem if the public," Sen. Borrello said. "If the average person, particularly here in Western New York, found out what was going on, they would be against it. That's why they're keeping this under cover, under wraps."
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When the plan to construct wind turbines was announced years ago by then New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, he had changed the permit rules for “Green Energy” projects to be able to bypass municipalities. That means local towns and villages bordering the Lake Erie shoreline would not be allowed to have a say in decisions for such projects led by the state.
"Andrew Cuomo created this Office of Renewable Energy Siting - ORES - they basically have been given the authority to bypass any local regulation that they think is going to, in any way, slow down the process," Sen. Borrello said. "They have certainly been able to strong-arm DEC and others into violating their own rules, when it comes to things like the preservation of habitats and endangered species. This was set up so Andrew Cuomo and the special interests that support him can rollover opposition, and certainly rollover due diligence. All the things that people put in place, especially at the local level, whether it's local governments or whatever, to stop things like this from destroying the quality of life in our area. So it's very troubling, there's no doubt this is all about the money."
While Hoak has not heard much from residents concerned about local municipalities not having a say in decisions like the wind turbines on the lake, he does believe that most of the activity from activists has been focused to the South of Hamburg.
"I'm not even sure, at this point, if the proposed wind turbines would even come into the close proximity of the Town of Hamburg yet," Hoak said. "Again, we're looking for factual information, and if it's appropriate for the town to weigh in, to represent the voice of the residents of the town, then we'll be prepared to at that time."
While Hoak says he can't speak to what happened under the Cuomo administration at the time of this decision, he thinks that decisions such as this should absolutely come down to an agreement between state and local government.
"I certainly believe that the local sentiment should be taken into account on these projects, and I'm optimistic that Gov. [Kathy] Hochul would take a different approach," Hoak said.
"I think everyone needs to have input, not just the towns along the shoreline," Sen. Borrello added. "Keep in mind, you don't necessarily have to be in view of Lake Erie to be dependent on it for your freshwater supply, your drinking water. Putting it in those terms make it seem like it's some kind of a NIMBY thing - 'Not in my backyard' - but the reality is, it's more about the fact that this has never been done anywhere in the world. The idea of putting wind turbines into the water of a freshwater supply, drinking water supply. It's never been done anywhere. I don't want to be a guinea pig for that."
Since Gov. Hochul has taken office for Gov. Cuomo, Sen. Borrello claims that she has been hiding from this topic, as she is aware of this topic being unpopular among residents from her hometown region. However, he believes Congressman Lee Zeldin understands the potential dangers of wind turbines in the Great Lakes, and he's willing to take a look into the matter.
"I believe a Gov. Lee Zeldin will reject this idea of Western New York and New York State becoming guinea pigs for something that's completely unnecessary," the Senator said.
As the weeks and the months continue to progress until action is made with the wind turbine debate on Lake Erie, Sen. Borrello believes everyone in Western New York should be asking their elected officials, both at the state and local level, where they stand on the matter with one question.
"Why? Why are we going to do this?," he said. "Is there some kind of a shortage of land for wind turbines? I don't particularly care for them on land either, but we are not out of land to put wind turbines up. In fact, the cost for putting them in the water is going to be many multiples more than doing it on land. It's going to be incredibly disruptive, and the electricity that these offshore wind turbines will produce, that electricity will more than double the cost of land-based wind turbines, and about five times the cost of traditional forms of electricity. No one has been able to answer the question, why?"