Industrial Wind Energy - A Matter of State Concern????

As you may have noted in a previous post below about the State’s power to preempt local laws, can rest legally and constitutionally on whether the issue is one of an overall “Matter of State Concern” important enough for the State to dominate local authority with State legislation.  Once again from the NY Local Govt. Handbook.

“Local law power is restricted where the subject of the local law is one considered to be of “state concern.” “Matters of state concern” is a phrase born in judicial opinions rather than in the Constitution or statutes. It is a term used by the courts to define what local governments may not accomplish by local law – in other words, what is not within their “property, affairs or government.” Matters of state concern are those of sufficient importance to require State legislation. If the matter is to a substantial degree a matter of State interest, it is considered a matter of State concern, even if local concerns are intermingled with the State concerns.”

This appears to be one of the legal tests as to whether home rule can be restricted in certain matters.  Well first, damn near anything can be considered a “Matter of State Concern”.  So much for actual home rule power!

Now we all know what the preemption powers of Article X are about.  In part it is about local communities smartening up on the industrial wind energy scam and the opposition becoming much more effective over the recent years educating the public about the numerous negatives of industrial wind energy. With this evolution after communities under wind threat smartened up came efforts in land use planning to prohibit or “zone out” industrial wind energy.  The bottom line as I see it is that the industrial wind opposition in NYS was winning to the point where a more extreme measure was needed by the wind industry and the nit wit politicians like Cuomo that support it.  Thus we have the preemption power of Article X.

But the question becomes is industrial wind energy of such a “Matter of State Concern” that it deserves the limitation of local community home rule powers by the State under this legal test?  Does it actually measure up as a major matter of State Concern?

Well let’s look at that. According to NYISO the NY independent grid operator NYS as of 2012 has access to 43,686 MW of electric generation capacity.  As of the fall of 2011 there is 1339 MW of wind energy capacity available. 

That means of the 43,686 MW of capacity in NYS, about 3% is wind energy capacity.

Only 3% of our overall capacity!!!!  Since wind energy is not a dispatchable on demand source of power, it is inhibited with a capacity factor of about 20 or 25% on average from State wide online wind generation experience.  If that is figured in you end up with an average capacity for wind in NY of  a paltry 335 MW of capacity.  That ends up meaning that only  0.0076 of the NYS electric capacity is from wind.  Some independent grid managers give wind nothing more that a 10% capacity credit (different from capacity factor) for reliability to actually deliver when called upon.  

So looking at these ridiculous numbers, does industrial wind energy even rate a “Matter of State Concern?????   It’s absurd. It’s also absurd for the State to waltz into NY communities and preempt local home rule powers over this almost nonexistence energy source which is never likely to produce any meaningful numbers in electric production or in mitigating NY or global climate issues.

So what’s left to be concerned about?   What is the Matter of State Concern when it comes to wind energy?  It can’t be that it will be a significant player by any measure in the electrical and climate issues, since there is no gain. The insidious situation is that Cuomo and State politicians are doing nothing more than playing us as complete idiots and suckers and taking away home rule on the legal magic trick that this green wind bullshit IS a “Matter of State Concern” so important, and so necessary it requires potential local law preemption. 

This is why we should be standing against wind energy and Article X and not playing an appeasement game with the Article X scam, since there actually is NO Matters of actual State Concern  when you look at the actual numbers, except for ensuring the profit lines of energy giant corporations dabbling in the wind energy tax profit scam.  We should not tinker with our local laws in any manner that enables this insidious scam and gives it validity as if it is an actual matter of State Concern.  We are really getting played on this one!!!!

So let’s say an Article X siting board gives away  CV or the Thousand Islands to wind developers on the legal guise it is a Matter of State Concern.  What is achieved by stripping away our home rule rights for foreign corps like BP?  Nothing!!!  Knowing wind energy’s absurd performance on all levels, virtually nothing is achieved. Nothing except the destruction of one of NYS’s most treasured and scenic resources.  THAT should be the actual legal Matter of State Concern.

So what is the Matter of State Concern?  It’s profit and greed and political power pure and simple.  What the Article X regulations should require is solid peer reviewed  SCIENCE and actual real world evidence to show that wind energy can perform to the propaganda levels of the wind developers claims (which it completely fails to do) and THAT should be the legal test as to whether it rises to a level of State Concern significant enough to justify preemption of local laws.  It is ludicrous for us to be enabling Article X with panic reactive modifications of our zoning to appease the green agenda and threat to home rule as if it IS a Matter of State Concern.

If we are to discuss a matter of State Concern…the State should be considering the significant level of threat that industrial wind energy brings to the communities and citizens of NY, particularly the communities of significant scenic beauty, or that host unique environmental resources like migratory flyways and habitat.

That should actually rise to a level of State Concern.  If you are going to preempt local laws on a level of State Concern then preempt local laws that actually allow any form of industrial wind development threat because of its wide spread invasive threat to humans and environmental resources.