Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Garry Brown - Commisioner of the NYS Dept. of Public Service - More Albany Fun!!!

More connections...Albany is so cozy!

Garry Brown is the current Chairman of the Commssioneers of the NY Dept of Public Service. This is the same  commission Maureen Harris sits on as a commissioner and she is the wife of the BP laweyer of record for the Cape Vincent Wind Farm. Mr. Brown is a very accomplished gentleman with many powerful connections, and it ain't looking good for Cape Vincent!.

 Now let me make it clear.  I am not suggesting any impropriety on Mr. Brown's part, or that of his friends, but his associations certainly are intersting when it comes to Cape Vincent's industrial wind future. Mr. Brown is part of a shighly stacked triple team coming to CV with BP and Art X.

Mr. Brown is also the chairman of the NYS Board on Electric General Siting and the Environment. This is the Board everyone is writing letterd to.   Long story short Brown will sit in the Art X siting board.  See link below:

http://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/PSCWeb.nsf/All/819F6262C4B3D787852579D0004F0151?OpenDocument

Now where else does Mr. Brown pop up in Albany?  Well he also sits as a member of the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). NYSERDA administers the State's Renewable Energy Portfolio, which helps fund NYS renewable energy projects, including wind, by taxing your electric bill. Look for RPS/SBC charge on your Nat. Grid bill.  You might not like wind power but you ARE funding it, and Mr. Brown helps see to it by sitting on the NYSERDA board.  NYSERDA's acting Chair Frank Murry, will also sit on the Art X siting board.   See this link about NYSERDA.  They are rather green!!!  Basically an important State  authority to see that NYS and Cuomo get their green agenda carried out.

http://www.nyserda.ny.gov/About.aspx

No let's  me see here.  Brown sits on the Art X siting board, Murry sits on the siting board, and so also does Joseph Martens from the NY DEC.  Yet all three are also on the NYSERDA board.!   Seems to me we in CV are going to be  being triple teamed by the very same GREEN NYSERDA in the Art X process,   Remember basically NYSERDA takes  money off your electric bill and gives it to wind developers and other renewables. 

So let's see what Mr. Brown and Mr. Murry have  to say...see the link from Gov. Cuomo's office where Cuomo is announcing $191million to increase renewable energy in NYS.

Governor Cuomo Announces $191 Million in Project Awards to Increase Renewable Energy in New York State

"Francis J. Murray Jr., President and CEO of NYSERDA said, "The RPS has been instrumental in attracting private investment in renewable energy and supporting the state's clean energy agenda. Thanks to Governor Cuomo's commitment to clean-energy investment, we will help create jobs, improve our environment and strengthen our energy security in New York."



Garry Brown, Chairman of the PSC said, "The generation of electricity from renewable sources increases energy diversity and promotes a better environment for us all. Renewable energy, along with our energy efficiency efforts, provides our best hope toward ending dependency on fossil fuels, improving regional economies, and reducing harmful emissions."


Created in 2004 to promote the development of new renewable energy resources, the RPS is funded by a surcharge collected from ratepayers served by investor-owned utility companies. To date, the RPS has supported the development of 56 large-scale projects, including 18 wind farms..."

http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/06012011RenewableEnergyinNewYorkState

Seems these guys who will sit on the Art X siting board are fully behind Cuomo's green (wind) agenda.  And these two and the DEC Comm. who also sits on NYSERDA's board will be coming to Cape Vincent with BP to decide our future.  Apparently they like wind power and are helping Cuomo carry out his green agenda and then here comes BP with 200-285 MW of nice juice wind power for them to get their hands on!

Gee I wonder how that will work out for us??? 

So let's  look at the CV Art X score board so far.

We have 3 very powerful men, all intertwined on the State's (GREEN) NYERDA  board and also on the Art X siting board, and all real happy to carry out Cuomo's green agenda. 

Then we have the BP lawyer married to one of the PSC commissioners that Garry Brown sits with on that commission.  Brown apparently had no problem with this  BP PSC relationship until we caught the PSC with their conflicted pants down! We also have BP offering these guys and the Gov. 200-285 MW in wind energy that plays right into their agenda. Hhmmmm...That is the  team we will be playing against!  Oh yes, and Brown and M. Harris also voted to require Iberdrola to invest $200 million in wind in NY in the Energy East take over deal!

So what do WE have?  We we have these guys on the other team setting all the Art X rules and promoting Cuomo's green agenda.  Oh...and we have our little wind zoning regulations in our law that we gave to these guys to negotiate with BP!  And that little law basically says these powerful men doing Cuomo's renewable bidding can't have BP's 200 -285MW of wind power. 

Then we have Mr. Bob Brown and others of  the CV zoning committee and town board  for example charging ahead in the Art X process these other State guys control, saying when we take our law and defend it before these guys on the Art X board they will absolutely see it our way simply because they will recognize that our law protects  the health, safety and welfare of the community, and this will basically send BP and their sweet 285MW of renewwable wind power packing, out of NNY.

Really ...reading everything above and all the overwhelming Albany connections it's actually going to be that simple, just wave our little law at them and write some letters and that is how our guys think this is going to work???  Gee have our guys ever heard of POLITICS!!!!

Long story short these Albany guys and Cuomo are rabidly for wind power and starring at BP's 285 MW of wind and our guys say our law says BP and Cuomo and these powerful guys can't have it!!!

Reading the information above...how do YOU think this is going to work out for the future of CV???

Think there might be any merit in NOT playing in this game and looking at some different alternatives that at  LEAST directly and aggresively addresses the POLITICS.  Our  little law does NOTHING to address the political aspect of all this, and that is MOST of what we are dealing with...not health safety and welfare and zoning laws. 

 Hell...all this is perfectly LEGAL and with all this power stacked against us, why even bother to worry about some little conflict of interest.  they can bulldoze us perfectly LEGALLY!!!

You want to actually defend your law...then you better start  thinking outside the little local zoning law box that all these local communities have bought right into!!

2 comments:

  1. Add this to your list of facts that point to a biased siting process.

    Four of the five permanent members of the Art. X siting board sat on Andrew Cuomo's New York Energy Highway Task force. Brown, Martens, Adams, and Murray.

    All working together to promote wind energy in New York.

    D. L.

    ReplyDelete
  2. But DL...I don't see the problem here. We have our zoning law, and we have been told that is THE answer to the defense of our community against.

    I am sure Cuomo and all his appointees will put aside their entire rabid State wind agenda and BP's influence and loby money to uphold our law.

    I have been told so, so it has to be.

    ReplyDelete