By KAREN ENGSTROM

There are numerous well-meaning organizations working to protect Chautauqua Lake and the watersheds in the county. Many studies have been conducted to assess problems and provide solutions. One conclusion they all agree on is that any type of pollution entering the water system has an impact on the lakes and waterways.

The seminars, conferences, studies, expert reports overlook one thing: solar and Wind development. The pollution caused by the industrial development of thousands of acres of forest, agricultural land, and wetlands in Chautauqua County for commercial solar and wind will affect the water.

The clearing of vast areas of forest, building of access roads, removal of hillsides, relocating aggregate and soil, compaction of soil, importation of millions of tons of gravel, the erosion, the transport of all components and the site construction — all have an impact. It is evident that in a hilly, lake and stream rich region such as Western New York, any large, land covering industrial project should be seen as a danger to the lakes and watersheds.

Examples:

— Cassadaga Wind – 37 turbines spread over 40,000 acres including 30 miles of roads through the hills and forests where tons of dry cement was sprayed to stabilize the gravel and mud with which they built the access roads. Plus 2500 tons of concrete is used to anchor each turbine, 800 gallons of oil is part of the gearbox in the nacelle. Maintenance is continuous necessitating the constant coming and going of immense diesel machinery and fuel.

— Ripley Solar — clear cutting and grinding of 523 acres of forest with a 2,000- to 6,000-acre footprint including Battery Energy Storage Units (BESS). PV panels are coated with fluorinated polymers containing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and fluorinated ethylene (FEP). These polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) do not break down in the environment or in the human body, or in fish, insects, aquatic birds, etc. accumulating over time. Perfluorinated chemicals increase risk of testicular and kidney cancers, ulcerative colitis (Crohn’s disease), thyroid disease, pregnancy-induced hypertension (pre-eclampsia) and elevated cholesterol. How much PFAS can be washed into the water table during routine operation–and when hailstorms break a panels’ glass?

There are dozens of solar and wind projects in the works for this region.Communities must secure in writing the guarantee that no PFAS will be part of any components. Besides the potential pollution from thousands of acres of solar, industrial solar projects above the 42 parallel result in a net energy loss. (Energy Returned on Energy Invested – ERoEI). The net-zero goals of the current state energy plan, the misnamed Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act (CLCPA), cannot be met with solar and wind because no Dispatchable Emission Free Resource (DEFR) will ever be possible at the scale needed to provide necessary backup for solar and wind. The continued push for solar and wind is leading the state into a totally unreliable grid. Saying solar and wind are supposed to benefit the environment is unrealistic, compared to the alternatives we already have. Net Zero will drive us to even more un-environmental policies.

Will lake and waterway protection organizations recognize the danger caused by industrial solar and wind? Will they sound the alarm, and save our lakes and waterways?

See video “Green Madness” https://youtu.be/ubmYlwMpUVY?si=kQUwpl3aFMJ7PPco

Karen Engstrom is a Mayville resident.