Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The drumbeat of opposition to proposed wind turbines to be located in Lake Erie continued Thursday as a handful of demonstrators gathered on the sidewalk outside the Buffalo Convention Center as leaders with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority were meeting inside.
While the meeting inside was informational in nature and not directly related to the proposed turbines, members of CAWTILE, Citizens Against Wind Turbines in Lake Erie, used the convention center as a backdrop in their latest efforts to raise awareness of their efforts to stop the project.
“We’re taking the opportunity to inform everybody of our opposition to wind turbines in Lake Erie," David Adrian of CAWTILE told WBEN Thursday. Adrian says plans are for between 50 and hundreds of wind turbines to be located in the lake between Lackawanna and Dunkirk. The turbines would be between 450 to 1000 feet tall, .68 miles apart and have a 3200 foot 'no go' barrier between one another and be located between 2 and 5 miles offshore.
The aesthetics of the project is a concern, said Adrian, but the main point of opposition is the potential impact on the quality of the drinking water that comes form Lake Erie. "11 million people get their drinking water from Lake Erie."
Patty Meckes with CAWTILE also expressed great concern over the drinking water impact and also said most people she speaks to about the wind turbine issue don't understand that the turbines would be located in the lake. “They’re not onshore, just like they are at Lackawanna, they want to put them in the lake.”
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Proponents of the wind turbines are touting the green energy aspect of the project, and CAWTILE members are not opposed to the overall notion of green energy. “There’s nothing to justify the expense," said Adrian, who said there are a number of alternative locations where the wind turbines can be located to achieve the same goal.
Demonstrators were handing out lawn signs that read, 'Just Say NO IN Lake Erie' as they responded to the honks of car horns passing by the convention center. “We keep on fighting," said Meckes as the spoke with WBEN. "We keep on getting the word out to the public."