Ill winds blow during public turbine hearing
By Kay Stephens, kstephens@altoonamirror.comPart of a wind turbine project proposed in Logan Township, north of Route 36 near Avalon Road, will be visible not only to nearby residents, but to those who live and drive as much as five miles from the site.
"I totally oppose this," Avalon Road resident Mark Twardon said. "You're going to be coming down 17th Street, and instead of the mountains, you're going to see these huge towers."
Twardon was one of 18 people who asked questions and offered comments, mostly in opposition, during a public hearing Thursday night hosted by the township planning commission at the First Church of Christ in Juniata Gap.
The commission is expected to forward a recommendation for supervisors on Gamesa Energy's request to build eight wind turbines north of Route 36, outside the township's wind zone. The company also plans to build 17 wind turbines south of Route 36, inside the wind zone.
The matter will be reviewed at the commission's Dec. 2 meeting, Chairman Dennis Murray said.
Several landowners are willing to lease acreage and/or waive setback requirements, said Jon Baker, Gamesa project developer.
Among those landowners is the Altoona City Authority.
If supervisors approve the request, the township will get an estimated $75,000 annually, an amount that's in line with payments collected by other municipalities where wind turbines have been constructed.
Baker and Tim Vought, Gamesa director of development, displayed computer-generated photographs, offering views of what the turbines would look like from Avalon Road locations, from the Altoona Area High School and from Best Buy at Logan Town Centre.
From the high school, 3 miles away, the turbines are visible because they are taller than the trees forming the northern horizon.
Twardon asked about using a smaller turbine, but Vought said that was tried elsewhere and didn't work well because the energy output was substantially decreased.
Twardon also asked about keeping the wind turbines south of Route 36 and extending into Cambria County. Vought said measurements indicate a drop-off in wind. The chosen areas reflect the best locations, Vought said.
Tom Brouse of Avalon Road appealed to the planning commission to forward a rejection to supervisors.
"I don't think this thing should be in a residential area," Brouse said.
Gary Miller added a similar sentiment.
"You folks have done your due diligence in giving them the original [wind zone] area," Miller said.
Others urged the planning commission to consider the potential for noise and environmental issues.
Baker and Vought said Logan Township built measures into its ordinance to address that. Vought also said he removed and relocated two turbines to address a concern about noise voiced by Connie Wilt, a neighboring property owner.
Wilt, who built a house two years ago, asked about impact on property values. Vought said studies show no decrease, but later also acknowledged that in Somerset County, property owners arranged to have the wind turbine company buy their homes because they could not sell them. Vought said that happened before setback and related restrictions were in place.
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Brian1
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11-08-08 2:04 PM
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Well the problem here is obvious, the majority of people in this area have their heads up their A*# and are not receptive to changes that will help our country. You guys cannot continue to be feeble minded morons if you want our country to move forward in the future. If the rest of our country had the same mindset as you guys do, we would never advance for the better. So put down your shotguns, close your bibles for a few minutes and wake up......
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1966254
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11-08-08 11:55 AM
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Maybe when the electric bills double in a year or two from now they will think differently. Remember the oil crisis from the 70's. We did nothing to correct it, we got gasoline price increases to over $4 a gallon. Do not think they won't go up again when everyone stops cutting back and starts wasteing it. The price now is looking pretty good, but it won't stay that way if we do not keep cutting back and remain that way. As soon as demand starts going back up so will the price.
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moodie
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11-08-08 11:40 AM
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Oh the ALTOONA mentality!!!!!!!! Don't you love it!
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Polybius
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11-08-08 7:46 AM
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KlausVR: That sounds great, and I agree. However, nuclear energy would acheive the same result while producing higher amounts of energy and jobs.
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homerbeep
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11-08-08 7:01 AM
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Leprechaun: I agree! I checked out the photos someone posted here on CU from Chimney Rocks. When I saw those UGLY windmills on top of those ridges above Maple Hollow that I once hiked and enjoyed, I couldn't believe it! Did ANYBODY think this bright idea through? The value better exceed the sacrifice!
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KlausVR
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11-07-08 10:37 PM
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Polybius: The goal is not necessarily to lower electric bills. The goal is to wean US off the teat of fossil fuels, and in the long run off of foreign dependency (at least in oil). Another side effect would be a cleaner environment. If we don't head in that direction starting REAL soon, in the long run ALL of our energy is going to cost whole bunches! Not to mention the environmental damage.
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Polybius
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11-07-08 9:56 PM
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I'm not totally against the turbines, but as they continue to creep closer to the city, I have yet to see any relif in my electric bill. Our local legislators need to ensure that some of the electricity generated by these turbines stays local.
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JasonFMX
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11-07-08 7:54 PM
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1. I can't believe the extreme ignorance of people around here. 2. These are not an eyesore at all. If you think they are then I think your houses are as opposed to looking at trees when I drive down the Avalon road and 22 I saw your homes and roads and guardrails. That is the biggest load of krap I ever heard. And honestly, in my opinion...I think they look pretty cool. 3. We have to wake up.......like 30 years ago. So as you can imagine, we're late. These things should have already been built and have some rust on them....let alone not even cutting ground yet. Look at the election, Centre and Cambria were the only two blue counties in PA between Pitts and Phil and they BARELY scraped by. The rest were all red, some very well into the red. What I mean by that is how Obama is all for alternative energy and to change this stuff instead of just drilling for more oil. When oil is gone how are we going to make plastics? Even synthetic threads like nylon and stuff for coats.....go
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KlausVR
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11-07-08 5:02 PM
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There used to be plenty of beautiful mountain drives one could take ... then all the pseudo pioneers had to cut down trees and build houses and have great big grass lawns and chlorine-water filled swimming pools and ... well, you get the picture, don't you?
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moodie
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11-07-08 4:38 PM
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Did any one bother to ask when and if the turbines will lower our energy bills??? Seems to me the water auth. will be the one getting the profit here! Will the Juniata Gap area have lower energy bills? I did not get to the meeting wish I had.. what the heck Altoona is an eye sore why not some turbine. If it helps with our energy cost I'm for it!
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Tuz127
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11-07-08 4:01 PM
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I think we should build a monorail.
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ferndawg44
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11-07-08 3:52 PM
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I think that they should propose this in a differnt matter... Like say: "Hey, Hunters, Imagine all the trails that will be made when they put these turbines on top of the mountains. You can walk for miles and not get lost because of these trails!! Now, What do you think???
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ferndawg44
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11-07-08 3:50 PM
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"Driving by the wind turbines on Rt. 36 will be an eye sore." Never mind the decrepide run down empty houses and building along with the graffeti you see when you get into Altoona. Quit living in the stone age folks. Its wind power to lower your electric bills. It's clean and its abundance alone makes it the right thing to do. So come out of your caves and jump on board!!
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Leprechaun
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11-07-08 3:13 PM
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Take a drive up old Route 22 and you will be greeted by a sight that I can only describe as ecological blight! The wind turbines constructed on the mountain top have destroyed what was once a beautiful drive and view. If the people of Cambria County wish to mar the landscape of their county then that is up to them, however, they should not infringe of the vistas that we here in Blair County enjoy. I am all for investigating alternative sources of energy, however, we should do so in ways that do not significantly alter the landscape. Finally, we should not forget the organization that was the catalyst behind this blight and the continued consternation it has brought about and that is Saint Francis University who partnered with Gamesa and brought them to this area. SFU should not go blameless or nameless any longer when it comes to this issue. Whatever blight and vista destruction we see is directly attributable to Saint Francis and Erik Foley.
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Twitch
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11-07-08 2:45 PM
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You people are crazy. What the heck do you think we need more of coal or oil fired electric plants that do nothing but destroy our area with constant pollution or wind mills that don't harm us in any way. Yea the majority of the electric is going other places but that is happening no matter what form of generation they use. Get smart and band together and start to take control of the situation by demanding that our area gets free or low cost energy from these facilities since they are using our area and natural resouces to make the electricity. I would rather have a CLEAN windmill than a plant that just pours smoke into our air 24 hours a day. Thats kind of a no brainer.
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CentPABravest
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11-07-08 12:43 PM
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What 2003 Blackout? My lights never went off here!! That blackout was a result of the overuse of electricity in the BIG cities, and that is exactly where the windmill energy is going to! This in NO way benefits us here. I fail to see how we are the backwards people.
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Brian1
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11-07-08 12:05 PM
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People in this area are so ignorant. This is why the national media ridiculed the area of Pa between Pittsburgh & Philadelphia. They compared us to ALABAMA. If we don't wake up and smell the roses we are soon going to have no energy. Didn't the 2003 blackout give us a minor example of what our life would be without any electricity? All you idiots care about is the unsightliness of wind turbines and don't get the big picture.
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KlausVR
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11-07-08 11:44 AM
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Oh yeah, and San Antonio is converting their shet (literally) into methane gas - enough to fill 1,250 tanker trucks a DAY! Talk about recycling! w ww .ameresco. com /release.asp?ID=180 (fill in the blanks)
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KlausVR
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11-07-08 11:34 AM
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Weaverx: yes, but that is total "power" needs. The NEXT sentence in the article is: "Though most oil is used for transportation or home heating purposes, a small percentage is still used as a fuel for electricity generating plants."
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soccer4ty5
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11-07-08 10:58 AM
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The people against the wind turbines are a perfect example of ignorance and being afraid to try to find ways to find cheaper more eco-friendly energy...but I guess it would make more sense to keep wasting natural resources.....
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CentPABravest
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11-07-08 10:51 AM
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Does anyone realize that the electricity these turbines make is greatly lower than what they tell you and most of it goes into a grid that befits NYC and New Jersey? This does not help us any here, we are just making electricity for those big cities in the Northeast
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Tuz127
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11-07-08 10:49 AM
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11% (1,599 megawatts) is fueled by natural gas or oil According to Penelec's website.
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salaman
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11-07-08 10:36 AM
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KlausVR is correct with the 2-2.5% number. What is actually used is the by-product or waste from refining gasoline. It can be used as asphalt binders or have solvent added and used as a low grade fuel.
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weaverx6
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11-07-08 10:08 AM
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ok, i guess we cant use links. oil is used as 40% of our countries power needs.
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weaverx6
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11-07-08 10:07 AM
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