Thiele: Support wind energy, but do it right
With today’s scheduled meeting of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in Southampton to discuss offshore wind, Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor) reiterated his support for such projects, particularly in New York State and Long Island.
Mr. Thiele, a long-time critic of the Long Island Lighting Company and its successor, Long Island Power Authority, sees wind energy as a means of cutting what he considers exorbitant electric bills, but said it’s important that such projects gets it right in to avoid being another “drag on the regional economy.”
He sees wind energy as a replacement for fossil fuel and called it “the most viable option for continued energy independence for Long Island.”
The NYSERDA plan presents “a responsible first step” coupled with public input. But the site plan developed by NYSERDA for locating wind energy projects “should be a starting point.” At the same time, the plan developed by the federal government through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management “should be rejected out of hand,” Mr. Thiele said.
The state plan demonstrated better research and considered local concerns, the legislator said.
Plans shouldn’t be accepted without assurance they wouldn’t have a harmful effect on the commercial fishing industry so vital to the East End, he said.
At the same time that Mr. Thiele endorsed the NYSERDA approach to development of wind energy, he reiterated his opposition to offshore drilling in the Atlantic, especially in waters off New York.
“I support Governor [Andrew] Cuomo’s recent legislative proposal to prohibit such drilling off the Long Island coast,” Mr. Thiele said. “The federal government should announce its abandonment of such a proposal immediately.”
