Dear NYS Agencies, especially NYSERDA, DEC and PSC,

 

The leasing and ownership of large quantities of Western NY Land for Wind may have negative ramifications upon the natural resources of oil and gas in the region!

 

Lately, there has been a large amount of solicitation to buy oil, gas and mineral rights.  The Oil, gas and wind companies have common parent companies or associations thereof. Additionally, there is contemplation by IDA's and municipalities of Eminent Domain to private corporations (foreign).

 

How are the NY State Agencies protecting the wealth of natural resources from foreign entities and corporations? It appears that there are large gaps in NYS law; agencies stating "not my job."

 

Attached please find:

 

1. The NYSERDA Oil and Gas Map

2. The Save Upstate Wind Map- needs updating

3. Reference to the MISSING NYSERDA TrueWinds Map

4. NREL Wind Map of NYS with descriptors.

5. NYSERDA Email on "Supply and Demand"

 

The wealth of wind does not match the concentration of proposed projects!  

 

From NREL:

"Winter is the season of maximum wind power throughout the Northeast region. During this season, all except the most sheltered areas have class 3 or better wind resource, and exposed coastal areas and mountain summits can expect class 6 or 7 wind resource. In summer, the season of minimum wind power, class 3 wind resource can be found only on the outer coastal areas and highest mountain summits. "

 

Again, how are the NYS Agencies protecting our Critical Electric/Gas/Oil Infrasctructure and Natural Resources?  Can you provide assurances?  Is there data driven analysis?

 

From Ask PSC Green Goals:

 

"  "Reduces use of imported fossil fuels, keeping dollars spent on energy in the State's economy."

 

                                                        Respectfully,

 

                                                        Alice Sokolow

 

Renewable & Indigenous Energy R&D Program

 

Wind | Photovoltaics | Biomass and Agriculture | Indigenous

Natural Gas and Oil in New York

 

 

Wells drilled since 1860

NYSERDA's Indigenous Resources Program

NYSERDA supports natural gas and petroleum research and development projects in 5 areas. The program builds off industry partnerships with companies, industry associations, GTI, USDOE, USEPA, Petroleum Technology Transfer Council, universities, NYSDEC and NYS Center for Stratigraphy and Paleontology.

Exploration

$400,000 Emerging Resources Solicitation to locate new potential reservoirs.

Production

NYSERDA and USDOE cosponsor the Stripper Well Consortium targeting new technology to help improve low volume wells.

Natural Gas Storage

Working with GTI and the USDOE to identify new and improve existing gas storage.

Environmental Performance

Well Characterization project with the NYSDEC to consider shut in status and other issues.

Outreach

Eight technical seminars organized with Independent Oil and Gas Association of NY; next will be November 15-16, 2001.    New York History

1627 - first documented oil seep identified in Cuba, Allegany County

1669 - explorer La Salle reports a natural gas seep, Canandaigua, Ontario County

1821 - first commercial use of produced gas in USA, streetlights in Fredonia, Chautauqua County

1865 - first producing oil well, Limestone Township, Cattaraugus County

1882 - New York production reaches 6.7 million barrels of oil

1936 - New York natural gas production reaches peak of 38 billion cubic feet

Top Gas and Oil Producing Counties, 2000

Gas

Chautauqua

Steuben

Erie

Cattaraugus

Cayuga  Bcf

5.9

5.2

1.2

1.2

1.1

Oil

Cattaraugus

Allegany

Chautauqua

Steuben

Erie  Barrels

105,220

34,516

23,377

17,411

67

Eighteen counties in New York produced oil and/or gas in 2000. (2000 numbers are preliminary.)

Production and Producing Wells, 2000

Gas

Oil  Production

16.9 Bcf

180,590 bbls Wells

6,562

4,709

Property Tax (90-99)

Leasing Royalties (90-99) $14.45 million

$65.19 million

Natural Gas Storage

22 storage fields comprised of 870 wells

71.7 Bcf gas from storage in 2000

Previous page

Next page

Click here: Proposed Wind Projects in New York

 

 

Map Copyright © 2006-2007 Save Western NY         All rights reserved

Permission to reproduce the map is given, provided it's accompanied by a link to this page and a note that the map is updated regularly and to click for the latest version. This is to prevent outdated copies floating around, giving people the impression their town is unaffected, when that may no longer be true (or vice-versa).

________________________________________

Map on NY TrueWind is gone!!!!!! 

NYSERDA - AWS Truewind Comments on Final Wind Integration Study

 http://www.nyserda.org/rps/AWS_Truewind_Comments.pdf  

 

NREL:

http://rredc.nrel.gov/wind/pubs/atlas/maps/chap3/3-25m.html

 

3-25 New York annual average wind power

 

Click here: Wind Energy Resource Atlas of the United States

 

The Northeast Region

The Northeast region consists of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The region's total population in 1980 of 49,136,000 represents approximately one-fourth of the nation's population. A large percentage of the people in the Northeast live in the corridor between Boston and Philadelphia, while large areas of northern Maine and upstate New York are quite sparsely populated. The major cities, rivers, lakes, and mountain ranges are shown in Map 3-20.

The topography varies dramatically throughout the Northeast. The Appalachian Mountains extend in a bank from northern Maine beyond the southern border of Pennsylvania. To the east of the mountains lie piedmont and coastal plain regions. West of the mountains the land becomes flatter as one approaches the Great Lakes. A large portion of the land area of the Northeast is composed of either hills and mountains or open hills and mountains, while large areas of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, and New York are plains containing hills. The only area of tablelands in the Northeast extends in an arc from the Hudson River valley, across central New York, and into northwestern Pennsylvania. Central and southern New Jersey contain the only true plains in the region.

Areas of class 3 or higher wind energy potential occur throughout much of the Northeast region. The primary areas of good wind energy resource are the Atlantic coast, the Great Lakes, and exposed hilltops, ridge crests, and mountain summits from Pennsylvania to Maine. Areas of highest wind energy potential (class 5 and 6) are the outer coastal areas such as Cape Cod and Nantucket Island, offshore areas of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and the higher mountain summits of the Appalachians. Winter is the season of maximum wind power throughout the Northeast region. During this season, all except the most sheltered areas have class 3 or better wind resource, and exposed coastal areas and mountain summits can expect class 6 or 7 wind resource. In summer, the season of minimum wind power, class 3 wind resource can be found only on the outer coastal areas and highest mountain summits.

Major areas of wind resource in the Northeast region are described below. Maps of annual average wind power are presented in Maps 3-21 through 3-26 for Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island (displayed on one map), Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont (displayed on one map), New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

 

________________________________________

From: prk@nyserda.org

To: Sksajs@aol.com

Sent: 4/25/2006 9:25:29 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Subj: Re: Cohocton Wind and Windfarm Prattsburgh

 

Alice -

Neither project has a contract through the RPS program.  They may be

planning to

submit bids under the next RPS procurement, which is expected to issue

mid-summer 2006.

We expect and hope for a surplus of supply, that is, that we'll get bids

from more projects

than we money to sign.  The procurement will be competitive; we'll select

projects based

on lowest price, like last time.  From that perspective, more bids means

more competition

means lower costs to the program.

We're not administering Exec Order 111, so I can't speak

from knowledge on that, though I expect the EO 111 procurers are also

looking for competition

to be brisk.

In what sense do they "seem to claim" that they are essential.

Peter R. Keane

Senior Counsel

                                                                          

             Sksajs@aol.com                                               

                                                                          

             04/25/2006 07:47                                           To

             AM                        prk@nyserda.org                    

                                                                        cc

                                                                          

                                                                   Subject

                                       Cohocton Wind and Windfarm         

                                       Prattsburgh