HAMMOND -- A group of North Country residents has banded to together to fight a plan to build hundreds of wind turbines on Lake Ontario and along the St. Lawrence River.
Mary Hamilton, John Byrne and Rob Aliasso fear the plan to turn the Thousand Islands into a so called "Green Energy" zone would destroy the beauty of one of the state's most scenic areas. Hamilton says the wind turbines are too large to be placed near residential areas.
"50 story high wind turbines. Do you know what 50 stories looks like? You have to go to Albany before you find a building that is 50 stories tall," said Mary Hamilton.
Several wind companies hope to have wind turbines up and running by 2012. John Byrne says some local politicians are making it easy for the companies to get the turbines built despite the fact a large number of residents are against them.
"They're pocketing themselves about $10,000 per turbine there loving every minute of it while the rest of us have to suffer the ramifications," said Byrne.
Rob Aliasso says the turbines would be subsidized with taxpayer money. As for the energy they produced - that would go downstate.
"There is a plan to take western and northern new york energy and send it down state they are looking at bringing larger and bigger transmission lines to bring energy down there."
For more information, visit the Wind Energy Ethics and Preserve the Golden Crest webpages.
