This is in response to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “Restore Mother Nature Act.”

Our governor wants to pass a $3 billion bond to fund critical environmental restoration projects. “Over the decades, we degraded our environment — destroying these natural systems. … We restore the environment by restoring habitats to reduce flood risks, improving water quality, sequestering carbon and more, “ our governor says.

Now let’s see how this washes out!

Cuomo has a big push on to build wind turbines all over New York. How is this environmentally friendly? Not hundreds of acres, but thousands of acres of forests, farm lands and water ways are destroyed installing these worthless so-called forms of green energy.

A two-year research project by the Salim Ali Center for Ornithology and Natural History, commissioned by state government agencies, has found that not only do windmills lead to bird and bat mortalities through collisions, but also has made birds and mammals avoid these “noisy” patches.

“Such avoidances and movements to fringes might increase conflict with humans. This calls for a set of protocols and policy guidelines before diverting forest land for wind farms,” states the study, funded by the State Forest Department, Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited, and the National Institute of Wind Energy.

We do not have the wind resources in Western New York to build wind turbines.

According to New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, “Capacity factors of inland wind sites in New York are on the order of 30 percent of their rated capacity. Their effective capacities, however, are about 10 percent, due to both the seasonal and daily patterns of wind generation being largely “out of phase” with the NYISO load patterns.

So, when Big Wind claims they produce 100MW of power it is actually 10MW. When they claim 30,000 homes are powered, it is actually 3,000. When NRG said the produce 435MW, it was done on a reliable, affordable, dispatchable basis at a 98-acre facility compared to the three Chautauqua County turbine factories that impact tens of thousands of acres of forested land. The negative impact has been calculated to be approximately $23 million per year to the region as tourism, agriculture and property values suffer. The health problems of those living in the Arkwright wind factory are now a reality with headaches, vertigo and sleeplessness, affecting children as young as 4 years old! How can anyone claim to be an environmentalist or conservationist if they are in favor of wind turbines?

Michael Wesley is a Perrysburg resident.