Wind tower moratorium put in place in Riga

Two points that need to be taken into consideration when thinking about change are to know where you are now and where you will be after the change has taken place. Edgar Moore, father of Town of Riga Supervisor Pamela Moore and a former Riga supervisor himself, made the statement at the March 14 public hearing on a proposed moratorium on wind derived towers.

"I support the moratorium as a way to allow adequate time to weigh pros and cons," he said. "That's paramount to preventing haphazard growth in the town."

Resident Barb Robinson agreed that a moratorium was a step in the right direction. "The town needs time to look at the issue of wind turbines," she said.

Ken Zuber, an agriculturist, said he is generally in favor of wind turbines. "I don't know how well they will do here in Riga but the Farm Bureau views them as a good resource for clean energy."

For Al Turcotte, wind turbines are a good, safe alternative to other forms of energy. He explained his son lives in Kansas near a wind farm that plays home to 174 wind turbines that generate enough energy to power 37,000 homes. "New York is number 15 in wind (velocity) in the country. The windmills start up at wind speeds of eight miles per hour, generate energy at 14 miles per hour and shut themselves down at a 56 miles per hour," he said. "They are a form of clean energy and we should be studying clean energy." He also said the land between windmills can still be utilized.

The public hearing on the wind tower issue was closed after less than 20 minutes of discussion and board members voted unanimously to place a six month moratorium on accepting applications for towers in the town.

March 19, 2006