State locks in transparency for wind farms

New York is the 15th windiest state, but it leads the nation in ensuring that deals made by wind energy companies with municipal officials to erect wind machines are transparent, ethically speaking. And that will be good both for consumers and companies seeking to harness wind power for New Yorkers, say clean energy and good government proponents.

The next step, they say, is to get state officials to reduce or remove the barriers inhibiting business people from bringing their clean energy ideas to the state.

The Alliance for Clean Energy New York, or ACE NY, recently announced an agreement with the office of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on promoting transparency in wind energy development in the state.

Fourteen wind energy companies have signed a standardized set of development rules for wind developers and the local communities in which they operate. Under the deal, companies would reveal such basic information as whether a municipal official has connection with any land on which a wind turbine is being erected.

“We believe the industry has risen to the challenge of good citizenship by committing to these rules and we hope these companies will continue to invest in New York, bringing needed jobs and clean energy to our economy,” said Carol E. Murphy, executive director of ACE NY.

The alliance and staff from Cuomo”™s office worked with members of the wind energy industry over months to craft provisions to ensure public confidence in the integrity of wind energy development proposals and allow New York to reap the benefits of the technology.

“This set of guidelines incorporates best-industry practices,” said Murphy. “It sets a new standard of transparency and public integrity that goes far beyond existing state law.”

The full set of guidelines is available at aceny.org.

She said regulations include limits on the gifts or services that can be offered to wind company executive as they visit potential or operating wind farm sites, requirements for companies to list the names and addresses of signatories to lease agreements allowing erection of wind machines on land and training for wind company employees on the ethics requirements for working in New York.

As of now, more than 1,200 megawatts of wind energy are produced in New York state, with each MW being enough to power approximately 900 homes for a single day. There are currently 7,000 MW in additional wind power being proposed, although Murphy said some of these projects are proposed for off-shore wind farms, which are far from assured.

But she said the future of wind power is potentially lucrative: “New York is the 15th windiest state. And there are a number of very good sites that people are trying to develop in New York.”

However, she said there are roadblocks familiar to many entrepreneurs tangling with Empire State regulations. “It is difficult to conduct business in New York ”“ business in general, not just renewable energy business,” Murphy said. “At the same time there are a lot of states out there making it very easy to do wind, solar and bio-mass development projects.”

She said a recent study by the state”™s energy arm NYSERDA shows that for every dollar invested in renewable energy here, $6 are generated for the state economy. But she said state officials and particularly many legislators seem to see no urgency in helping start renewable energy projects here.

She said the first thing the state could do is to return Article 10 to state law. Article 10, which expired in 2002, creates a siting board that helps facilitate energy projects. “It prevents a lot of the confusion with localities having to deal with energy permitting issues,” Murphy said.

She said with the state legislature taking no action again this year on the matter and with little prospect for action until early 2010 at the soonest, energy companies are ?“absolutely” taking their projects elsewhere.
“New York, I hope, doesn”™t squander the opportunity we have,” said Murphy.