When Bob Dylan wrote, “The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind,” little did he realize he might be talking about energy solutions for agricultural needs in Southold. Under a new ambitious proposal presented to the Town Board of Southold by the Alternative Energy Committee, wind power may become an option for agricultural operations existing on over seven acres of land.

Presently, all wind turbines on towers are prohibited in the Town of Southold. However with the existing need to deal with global warming, coupled with the ever-growing amounts foreign fuels needed, as well as an overall general need to reduce the cost of electricity, a fresh look at this option is a wise move by the board. The proposal on the agenda only is aimed at agricultural sites, therefore town officials will have to probably greater define what constitutes an agricultural site versus a residential site beyond the seven acres.

Back in 2003 a proposal, for wind turbines, by Osprey Dominion, a winery, was denied for technical reasons however the political climate for action to conserve fossil fuels and combat global warming may be changing some minds. Osprey Dominion currently operates all of its machinery using bio-diesel, an earth friendly fuel source.

At the moment, the New York State department of Agriculture and Markets supports wind turbines for use for creating energy for greenhouses, and other agricultural uses.

The proposal submitted by the Alternative Energy Committee has restrictions on height, noise and distance from property lines. At the moment turbine towers are being capped at 120 feet and can only be located more than the height of the tower plus ten feet from any property border. The proposal also dictates that the noise be less than a washing machine makes. (60dBA). To insure that the towers do not look like the billboards at modern baseball parks there is to be no advertising on the structures and the towers and turbines are to be painted environmentally friendly colors meaning no hot pinks or deep purples. Also the structures are not to be used for towers for radio and telephone signals. The proposal also has a clause to deal with usage, that being, if a tower and turbine is not used in a twelve-month period it will have to be dismantled.

In a survey of local wineries, a few other points were made. One vineyard was hopeful that funding would be made available to offset the costs of building the towers and purchasing the turbines. The manager stressed the assistance was not to come from the Town of Southold, but from the state or even federal government. Another was hoping for some tax incentive or at least an incentive to invest profits on such an ambitious program might be explored. But most will have a “wait and see attitude.”

With everyone’s energy cost rising, progressive thinking will be needed to combat all the rising cost of doing business and staying competitive on the North Fork. The Town Board of Southold will have to make a decision based on evaluating needs and results of this proposal. At the present time there is no proposal for residential usage of towers and turbines to harness the wind and reduce energy cost. However with new technologies, anything down the road may be possible and may be needed to combat the real dangers and threats of global warming and foreign energy dependence. .

It’s Windy, Let’s Use It

Wind Power May Be In The Cards For The North Fork