coaxny

The organization noted that Power NY encroaches on Home Rule in New York, a legislative authority that allows each municipality in New York to govern themselves.

“This takes away input from the local planning and zoning, and even community government, whether it is village, town or county on any siting of power projects,” said Oswego County Legislator Shawn Doyle, R-Pulaski, who hosts meetings locally with COAX. “If somebody wants to come in here, and whether they want to site a nuclear power plant, a gas plant, coal plant or build industrial wind farms … the local boards have no say. The state would do all the siting.”

Doyle reflected on the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) Great Lakes Offshore Wind (GLOW) project that was pitched for development in the waters of Lake Ontario off Oswego County’s shores.

In 2009, NYPA officials initially presented the idea for the GLOW project to counties all along the shoreline of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The project would include the placement of 40-150 wind turbines in water levels 150 feet or less. The project would lead to the production of 120-500 megawatts of wind power generation in one of the two Great Lakes.

The Oswego County Legislature, with Doyle as the lead spokesman against the project among the body, voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution expressing disapproval of the project for development within county waters.

“But right now as it stands, New York can do whatever it wants,” Doyle said.

The legislator noted that he is seeking a repeal of the legislation, while in the statement provided by COAX, they are willing to work with improving the bill.

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A group based in northern New York is taking aim at the recently adopted Power NY Act, saying the measure signed last week by Gov. Andrew Cuomo strips local communities of their ability to guide decisions on where new power plants are located.

The group, Coalition On Article X (COAX), said in a statement this morning that the bill “passed with very little public input, late at night behind closed doors. The public’s rights were taken – literally – while they slept. COAX would like to thank our elected officials who did the right thing and voted against Article X, unfortunately many voted yes.”

The new law is aimed at letting the state more easily develop new power plants to replace aging, less efficient facilities.

It creates a seven-person board to oversee the development of power plants in excess of 25 megawatts of energy, which would include wind farms and even some battery-storage facilities. The old law limited the board’s oversight to facilities with more than 60 megawatts, which often left the decision on how to handle smaller power-plant projects to local communities.

The group warns that’s leaving out local communities in the decision making process.

However, supporters of the measure say that the local communities will still play a major role. In particular, power companies will pay for an “intervener fund” of up to $750,000 that could be used by local groups and others to study the effects of a power plant in their community, and also to fund legal bills.

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