Wind Energy the Right Kind of Hot Air

by: Bill Liblick

Dick Riseling has a dream and that is to bring wind energy to Sullivan County. That wish may soon become a reality, as elected officials are beginning to look into the alternative form of energy as a means to save and make money for townships.

The Sullivan Alliance for Sustainable Development (SASD) has been visiting local municipalities in an effort to get them to support their drive to bring Wind Energy to the region. Their argument is convincing and must be taken seriously.

They are pushing a company which billionaire and perennial gubernatorial candidate Tom Golisano owns called Empire State Wind Energy. Golisano’s company is actively looking for towns that are willing to let it build wind turbines that can produce energy which it claims is cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

The concept would not work in all areas of Sullivan County, because it requires wind. SASD has said that they have identified which locations within our county can house wind turbines, and those are the towns they are making presentations.

The reason towns should seriously be looking into this proposal is because of the monies which can be made, and possibly lower property taxes.

Golisano’s plan is to build the utility grade turbines, and then share the profits with local municipalities.

A town like Callicoon could earn as much as $2 million a year in profits because of its high elevation. The Monticello School District is looking into wind energy to save the school thousands of dollars it pays for electricity.

Ok - what is wind energy you may ask? It is windmills. Yes, those big long sticks with propellers attached to them. Windmills are known to produce electricity at a reasonable cost. What is more intriguing is the fact, that we might be able to sell this energy for a profit.

 When driving on route 6 in Pennsylvania past Honesdale, for example, you can see windmills in action. They look amazing. So after seeing them, and reading what Mr. Riseling had to say on the subject, I decided to do some research. I discovered an interesting website, www.awea.org. 

I learned that windmills transfer the kinetic energy of wind to another device capable of converting the wind power into a usable form of energy. Windmills in operation today are used primarily to generate electricity. Over one million homes in the United States receive their electricity thanks to windmills.

My exploration further discovered that Texas produced the largest amount of energy from wind - California was next - with Denmark generating 20 percent of its electricity.

The biggest question I had was what happens if there is no wind? Wind Power plants have a system in place which figures average wind speeds, patterns, and electricity requirements for their customers. They have to maintain enough capacity to meet expected customer demand at all times, plus have an additional reserve margin.

Sullivan County Towns and Villages must seriously research this form of alternative energy. It should not stop with wind power either, there is solar, geothermal, and other forms of energy that also need exploration.

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