The following opinion was submitted by residents living near the planned Liberty Renewables wind farm in the town of Fenner. Their names appear at the end.
We are proud of the town of Fenner and our town leaders who welcomed 20 250-foot turbines built on a remote piece of farmland in our town. The town and ENEL Northeast (the renewable energy company) worked cooperatively for three years to carefully plan the siting of each turbine, the impact on our lives and homes, and the economic advantages to the town. As a result of ENEL’s project, payments to the town improved roads, maintenance and brought down resident taxes. This arrangement has lasted since 2001. The Fenner Renewal Energy Education Center, a local nonprofit to educate about many different types of renewable energy, works cooperatively with the town and with ENEL, with thousands of people visiting every year.
Recently, New York state has become very aggressive in promoting renewable energy projects. Its plan to reduce consumption of gas and oil is laudable. The signatories of this letter are all deeply concerned about the growing climate crisis and support many local efforts to be part of the solution…