I'm not much for discussing politics and I certainly don't trust any of our politicians.  But I felt the need to bring this to your attention so that we can collectively voice our concerns to our "representatives" over this terrible plan that our government is trying to slip past us without anyone noticing.  In short, our elected officials want to put 2,200 wind turbines on Lake Ontario in 50-150 feet of water.  The electricity that these turbines generate will be sent to New York City.  Here's a snapshot of the plan:  Offshore Wind Turbines - BAD NEWS for Lake Ontario
There are a thousand reasons why this is a horrible idea, but the highlights are captured pretty well in this letter written by Tom "Longline" Bishop.  Tom posted this on the Lake Ontario United forum and has given us permission to copy/paste it.  So PLEASE send this to your elected officials.   I couldn't agree more Tom!  Thank you for writing this.

Dear Governor Patterson,

I’m writing to inform you that I and many Lake Ontario fishermen, boaters, property owners & environmentally conscious citizens are totally against locating offshore windfarms along the shores in Lake Ontario for which the NY Power Authority is currently seeking proposals. From aesthetic, ecological, recreational, and economic viewpoints this is not a good area to install turbines.

The Great Lakes were declared to be a national treasure (Presidential Exec. Order 13340 of May 18, 2004). They are a valuable freshwater resource that many governments, agencies, organizations and conservation groups have been trying to restore and protect, especially in this time of climate change that is seeing our freshwater ecology challenged and the world’s freshwater supply dwindle.

1. Aesthetically:
Windmills will be a clearly visible eyesore from all points on the south shore and higher buildings inland. There will be no hills or trees to hide them. Offshore windmills are larger than their land based cousins and will fill the 50 to 150 Ft of water band along the south and eastern shores. NYPA is seeking proposal for the construction of up to 500 Megawatts of electrical production. This will require 1,250 turbines rated for 1.6 MW each which operate at a typical 25% efficiency, worldwide. Rochester has plans to develop the harbor area for recreational purposes; Oswego and the Salmon River area have already become well known for their recreational activities especially the world class fishing and hatcheries there.

2. Ecologically:
The Rochester Embayment extends from Braddock’s Bay to Pultneyville from the shoreline out to over 200 ft of water. It has a thick sand and mud bottom due to thousands of years or erosion and is listed as a Class B Area of Concern by the U.S. EPA due to the sediments containing very high levels of heavy metals and phosphorous. Impairments listed by the USEPA include: restricted dredging; degradation of benthos; loss of fish and wildlife habitat; and beach closings, among others.

Foundations for offshore turbines are much larger than land based units as they also have to withstand water currents and wave action. Excavation for installation and decommissioning, (after only a 20 years life expectancy) offshore turbine towers and transmission lines will disrupt heavily polluted sediments that have settled to the bottom and are beginning to be covered by cleaner sediments from the last few years. The underwater currents and the natural gyre that travels from West to East in Lake Ontario will carry liberated pollutants and impair areas all along the southern shore and into the Thousand Islands.

Every aquatic life form in the Great Lakes is dependent upon the nearshore environment at some stage in their life, whether it’s zooplankton, prey or game fish. It is a very frail ecology, especially with the recent colonization of that zone by invasive species such as Zebra & Quagga mussels. Turbine foundations, interconnection and transmission lines will cause aquatic habitat fragmentation and disrupt nesting sites. Studies have shown that fish can sense and are affected by electromagnetic fields. The US Army Corps of Engineers is trying to stop another invasive species (Asian carp) from entering the Great Lakes at the Chicago Sanitary Canal with electricity.

Avian fatalities are also a major concern. Especially for migratory birds and water fowl that have established routes through the area to resting places such as at Braddock’s Bay, Irondequoit Bay, wetlands in the area, and even the Montezuma Wildlife Preserve.

3. Recreationally:
Boating collisions occur every year. The sought after proposal will add over 1000 more nautical obstacles for all types of watercraft.

Government agencies will create exclusion zones around the turbines and transmission lines for reasons of safety and national security. This will greatly reduce and partition the area where boaters and fishermen frequent.

4. Economically:
Effort by the Great Lakes states, US and Canadian governments and their agencies to restore fish populations and habitat has put money into the local economies. It has lead to the establishment of a documented $7 Billion/year Sportfishing industry on the Great Lakes. Windfarms will diminish this.

The Lowville windfarm is currently entering a legal battle with NYS as it was recently classified as a “shirt-changer.” Flat Rock/Maple Ridge did not create the additional jobs that its proponents claimed it would. Lewis County is only going to receive 25% of what of was projected for its 2010 budget from that windfarm project.

The view of the lake will be ruined and property taxes will be lost as values of the most valuable residential properties in the area will go down. People do not want to live with windmills in view, unless they are getting easement monies for turbines on their land. Individuals will not get easement money if the turbines are located offshore.

Electricity generated by wind is more expensive than other means due to construction, maintenance and transmission:

The Long Island PA (headed by Mr. Kessel) terminated the proposal for only 40 turbines in the Long Island Sound when they found out that re-bid construction costs would exceed initial estimates by $114M.

Access issues for servicing turbines will contribute to increased expenses of electricity. The waves on Lake Ontario are much steeper than on the Baltic where they acknowledge access issues with wave heights above 1 meter. (We have that frequently.) Additionally, although Lake Ontario doesn’t generally freeze over, the Welland Canal and the St Lawrence Seaway are closed over the winter and ports such as the Genesee River and Oswego do freeze over.

Site choices are based on average yearly wind speed and the day to day and even hourly winds are ignored. Lake Ontario sailors know how the winds suddenly changes in these areas. Brownouts & surges will become more frequent & severe as the area becomes more dependent on technology that is based upon our unpredictable weather. I.E. “Lake effect”. (Worldwide, without Lake effect, they only operate at 20-25% of name plate capacity.)

I urge you to say “NO” to windfarms on Lake Ontario. Although proponents claim “green” w.r.t. air, they casually brush off issues with water. Lake Ontario is too valuable a freshwater resource to risk.

Thank you,
Capt. Bill Ruth


You can find out who your local representatives are here:  http://whoismyrepresentative.com/

Time is of the essence here people!  Governor Patterson just approved this proposal as part of his Energy Policy in 2010.  We either speak up now and do so LOUDLY or we're going to have to face life with 2,200 wind turbines in the middle of the lake that we all love so dearly.  I urge all of you to write your representatives today.

Hopefully that's it for the political ranting on this blog.  I just couldn't sit idly by and let them push this through without a fight from the stakeholders in the fishery.

Until Next Time,
NO WIND TURBINES ON LAKE ONTARIO!!

~Capt. Bill