Shifting Ground: Wind Power
A Family Divided, Lewis County, NY April 9, 2008 |
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The Yancey family has lived on Tug Hill in rural northern New York for generations, making a living from the rocky farmland and an inn with a view of the Adirondacks. But when the Maple Ridge Wind Farm descended on the region two years ago, transforming an area the size of Manhattan into the largest wind farm in the east, the Yanceys found themselves, and their town, torn apart. Nationwide, oil prices are rising and the demand for renewable energy is increasing, but communities aren't always happy to host the wind farms that fuel the grid. With more than 200 turbines—each 20 stories tall and with blades three times as long as a Greyhound bus—the Maple Ridge Wind Farm fragmented and transformed the landscape. At the same time, the Wind Farm pays thousands of dollars each year to the landowners willing to host turbines on their property, and it has brought much-needed jobs and tax dollars to the area. The Yanceys know that one seemingly simple question is enough to pit neighbor against neighbor, father against sons: Who gets to control the wind? Read more >> |