Governor Cuomo: Build a Renewable Energy Economy

On April 16, 2013, the Sierra Club urged NY Governor Cuomo to take aggressive action towards building a renewable energy economy. The campaign calls for job-creating renewable energy in areas that could benefit from the transition away from fossil fuels.

“Specifically, we’re asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to take administrative action to meet and extend the state’s renewable-energy goals … instead of any continued investment in fossil fuels,” said Lynda H. Schneekloth, chairwoman of the Sierra Club, Niagara Group at a news conference on the Buffalo waterfront in view of the Steel Winds wind turbines [video report].

 

Schneekloth said Cuomo's pledge to invest $1.5 billion in solar energy through the NY-Sun Initiative is a very good start, but "much more can be done to keep pace with other states."  

Cornell Professor Robert W. Howarth spoke at the Buffalo news conference in support of renewable energy in terms of its feasibility and its economic and public health benefits. Howarth is co-author of a new peer-reviewed publication entitled "Examining the feasibility of converting New York State's all-purpose energy infrastructure to one using wind, water and sunlight."

Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster said “Niagara Falls was in the forefront of renewable energy a century ago with the creative development of hydroelectricity. It’s time we reclaim that advantage and aggressively push for clean, renewable energy here in New York.”

Take Action: Send an email message to Gov. Cuomo.

Other groups represented at the news conference included WNY Drilling Defense, Wind Action Group, WNY Peace Center, Clean Air Coalition of WNY, Riverside Salem United Church of Christ, PUSH Buffalo, WNY Council for Occupational Safety and Health, Re-ENERGIZE Buffalo, Residents for Responsible Government, and Partnership for the Public Good. 

The Sierra Club's "Turn, Not Burn"campaign was advertised on billboards (image above) and in newspaper ads (see below) in Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton, Auburn and Albany.

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Sierra Club Launches Statewide Renewable Energy Campaign

Event in Buffalo kicks off Renewable Energy Week Asking Governor Cuomo: “Let’s Turn, Not Burn.” 

Buffalo, NY: On Tuesday, April 16, the Sierra Club Niagara Group will join with Western New York Council on Occupational Safety & Health, WNY Drilling Defense, WNY Peace Center, Clean Air Coalition of Western New York, PUSH Buffalo, Re-ENERGIZE Buffalo, Riverside-Salem United Church of Christ, Wind Action Group, and Residents for Responsible Government to hold a press conference on the Buffalo waterfront at Dug’s Dive to launch the “Let’s Turn, Not Burn” campaign. It kicks off Sierra Club’s Renewable Energy Week, which includes events across the state and a robust advertising campaign in Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton, Auburn and Albany calling on Governor Cuomo to take administrative action to create jobs and grow the economy with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

WHAT:  Press conference to launch Renewable Energy Week in New York State

WHO:

• Prof. Robert Howarth of Cornell University
• Mayor Paul Dyster of Niagara Falls
• Bob Ciesielski Energy Committee Chair, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter and Niagara Group
• Erin Heaney, Director, Clean Air Coalition of Western New York
• Lynda Schneekloth, Chair of Sierra Club Niagara Group

WHEN: Tuesday, April 16 at 10:00 a.m.

WHERE:  Buffalo waterfront at Dug’s Dive, 1111 Fuhrmann Boulevard, Buffalo, New York 14203

VISUALS: Fully operational wind turbines visible from the location, banners, people with signs

Background:

At a time when the state’s remaining coal plants are increasingly uneconomical, the “Let’s Turn, Not Burn” campaign is asking the Governor use his administrative power to bring job-creating renewable energy online to replace outdated coal, gas and nuclear plants, and meet and extend the state’s renewable energy goals. Upstate New York is well positioned to benefit from a renewable energy economy because of its potential for both wind and solar power and ready work force. Developing these sources would cut dangerous pollution and fulfill the Governor’s commitment to economic development in upstate.

Update 4.16.2013, 1pm:  Click here to see photos of event and full page Buffalo News ad.

In the NEWS

Steel Winds project will add six windmills
Six new windmills will be built on the old Bethlehem Steel site this year. According to First Wind spokesman John Lamontagne, the new towers will be about 240 feet tall, and with the blades, the windmills will be about 400 feet tall, the same as the eight turbines that the company operates along the Lackawanna shoreline.

The Thruway Authority will seek proposals from the wind turbine industry to assess the feasibility of constructing smaller windmills at six Thruway sites in Western NY: Batavia, Eden-Angola, Silver Creek, Dunkirk, Westfield and Ripley.

The plan is part of Gov. Paterson’s objective of meeting 45% of NY electricity needs through energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Read the report in The Buffalo News.


Water-focused group tries to steer government money to clean up Buffalo

BUFFALO, New York – When the state of New York and this post-industrial city don’t have the resources to seek government funding for water preservation projects, Julie Barrett O’Neill’s staff step in.

“There is a lack of capacity at the state and city level,” said the executive director of nonprofit group Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, which works to promote, preserve and protect the environments of the Buffalo and Niagara rivers. “There’s not a lot of infrastructure so we have to step in.”

So far the 20 or so staff at Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper have brought up to $12 million in funding to Buffalo, with another $50 million to come over the next two years.

The group is now looking at ways to access some of the $475 million set aside by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama as part of the Great Lakes Initiative, aimed at restoring the Great Lakes. Together the Great Lakes contain 22 percent of the world’s fresh water.

Read the full report at Reuters.com.


Report finds region ripe for green economic future

Buffalo Niagara Enterprise on Tuesday rolled out what it called “third-party validation” that the alternative energy industry can hold the key to turning this part of the Rust Belt green.

“With its diverse manufacturing heritage and skilled work force, the region can become a key asset in U. S. efforts to expand its competitive presence in emerging green industries and technologies,” wrote consultant Keith W. Rabin, president of KWR International.

The 162-page report, commissioned by Buffalo Niagara Enterprise and funded by a grant from the electric utility National Grid, argued that such factors as idled industrial facilities, skilled work force, varied educational institutions and strategic location should position the region to respond to the nation’s call for renewable, secure and environmentally friendly energy sources.

Beyond the idled factories and the underemployed worker base, Rabin said, Western New York offers the climate and resources necessary to generate wind, solar and water power, plus the transportation network necessary to ship products that could be manufactured here.

Read the report by George Pyle in The Buffalo News.

For a Buffalo Niagara Enterprise Summary Report on the green economy and Western New York’s alternative-energy manufacturing potential, click here.


US Department of Labor announces $150 million in ‘Pathways Out of Poverty’ training grants for green jobs
WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced $150 million in green jobs training grants, as authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). The "Pathways Out of Poverty" grants — as the group of funding awards is known — will support programs that help disadvantaged populations find ways out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency through employment in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.

"These Pathways Out of Poverty grants will help workers in disadvantaged communities gain access to the good, safe and prosperous jobs of the 21st century green economy,"said Secretary Solis. "Green jobs present tremendous opportunities for people who have the core skills and competencies needed in such well-paying and rapidly growing industries as energy efficiency and renewable energy."

Through the 38 grants awards announced today, targeted populations will receive recruitment and referral services; basic skills, work-readiness and occupational skills training; supportive services to help overcome barriers to employment; and other services at times and locations that are easily accessible. Through these programs, participants will receive certifications and on-the-job training that will lead to employment.

The press release is here.

NOTE: A search of grant recipient cities in upstate NY found Rochester and Syracuse, but not Buffalo.

Steel Winds: Brownfields to Greenfields

Along with the national movement to expand renewable energy sources of electricity comes a need for appropriate land to accommodate large wind farms and solar arrays. One approach builds on the saying "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade". That approach was taken at the site of the former Bethlehem Steel plant in Lackawana NY near Buffalo in 2006: idle brownfields in the rustbelt were successfully re-purposed into an urban wind farm named 'Steel Winds'. The brownfields were transformed into Greenfields.

The Steel Winds project is now providing a model for the nation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have now identified nearly 4,100 contaminated sites deemed economically suitable for wind and solar power development, as well as biomass, according to a Scientific American article highlighting Steel Winds.

EPA's Re-Powering America's Lands initiative was formed last year to coordinate federal efforts to encourage the use of contaminated sites for renewable energy, such as brownfields, old mines, and landfills. The EPA highlighted Steel Winds as an example in its report, and also a solar photovoltaic facility sited at a former landfill in Fort Carson, Colorado as well as other sites.

According to the EPA report, brownfields and other contaminated lands are environmentally and economically beneficial for siting clean and renewable energy facilities because they:
• Generally have existing transmission capacity, infrastructure in place and adequate zoning
• Take the stress off undeveloped lands for construction of new energy facilities, preserving the land carbon sink
• Provide an economically viable reuse for sites with significant cleanup costs or low real estate development demand
• Provide job opportunities in urban and rural communities

Environmentalists are in favor of using brownfields and landfills for clean energy development because it relieves the development pressure on pristine places.

The EPA will kick off a series of national workshops to allow state and local leaders, renewable energy developers and conservation groups to brainstorm. A brownfields conference called "Revitalization in the New Economy" was held in Colorado last week. The 13th National Brownfields Conference will take place in New Orleans this week.

Environmental Citizen of 2009

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To see the full Award Poster from the Erie County Environmental Education Institute, click here.

Wind Power: More Onshore! Offshore too?

Look for more wind turbines at Steel Winds in the future. Thirteen more will be added to the old Bethlehem Steel site by 2009 or 2010, depending on equipment availability. In addition, five wind turbine towers will be erected at a new site along the Lake Erie shore in Hamburg. That's a total of 26 local generators of electricity fueled by no-cost, non-polluting, wind power! The full Buffalo News report is here.

In addition to onshore turbines, wind power advocates are promoting the idea of offshore wind turbine towers in Lake Erie. There is a lot of wind power to be harvested offshore in a region extending up to 3 to 6 miles out. Offshore wind power is already well developed in Europe at 21 different sites, and at least 11 sites in the U.S. are under consideration. Canada is considering offshore wind in Lake Ontario. For the full Buffalo News report, click here.

An earlier post here described a UB report urging NY State to develop a comprehensive plan for offshore wind power. It's time to move forward on the offshore plans. A contract was announced recently to build the nation's first offshore field of wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean. 150 wind turbines will be anchored in the seafloor about twelve miles off the coast of Delaware. The CNN report is here.

Someday we'll be able to take an Electric boat tour on Lake Erie to see the wind turbines and view other areas. A fleet of electric water taxis is envisioned for the Buffalo waterfront, according to John Montague, executive director of the Buffalo State Maritime Center. The quiet, battery-run boats will depend on solar and wind energy for power...electrifying! Click here for the News report.

Meeting: Great Lakes Wind Collaborative

1st Annual Meeting

of the

Great Lakes Wind Collaborative

May 6-7, 2008
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Buffalo NY

To go the GLWC Web site, click here.