Of all the towns to take a stand against turbines in Lake Erie, Arkwright may be the most unique. It was one of the first locations to allow windmills to be built upon its hills.

To say the least, it has been a bit of a financial windfall to the town. Each year, the town receives approximately $300,000 as part of an agreement to host the turbines within the limits of Arkwright. Landowners also receive healthy payments from the developers who lease the land for the placement of turbines.

But that is exactly one of the reasons its board is against the placement of the turbines in the waters.

Arkwright Supervisor Brian McAvoy believes other municipalities across the state could be in favor of wind turbines “in their backyard” as well, but placing them in Lake Erie instead eliminates that opportunity.

He called the pursuit of placing them in Lake Erie “a cash grab” by the developers who seek to avoid the hassles and costs of placing them on land. In Lake Erie, rather than paying to lease the property and to receive permission to install wind turbines on land, they could be placed off the shoreline, in some cases only several miles into the lake.

That’s a very different take on a controversial issue than what is usually heard. It is something that needs to be a part of the campaign that Citizens Against Wind Turbines In Lake Erie use as well.