Article 10 of the New York State Public Service Law allows the governor’s henchmen to coerce towns into accepting backyard wind farms. Where did home rule go?

Yesterday’s post from the Institute for Energy Research generated a comment from reader and guest blogger Mark Dye, who made a very cogent point about New York State’s hypocrisy with respect to energy facility siting, He observed people “care about is being coerced in to something and related a conversation he had with a NIMBY about New York’s Article 10 of the Public Service Law, which, contrary to the Court of Appeals decision in the Middlefield case, says the state can supersede local energy siting decisions if local zoning is “unreasonably burdensome.” Mark notes the fact the State could “force large renewable energy projects (larger than 25 MW) on her was an eye opener.” He makes a great point.

I’m familiar with Article 10 from work I did indirectly representing a wind energy company proposing an Upstate New York project. It’s been around a while and, for all intents and purposes, provides an out for companies facing serious headwinds to backyard wind farms. A company can seek approval from a municipality knowing that if things get rough it can simply bypass locals and go straight tom the State for approvals. 

Read more:

https://naturalgasnow.org/new-yorkers-coerced-accepting-backyard-wind-farms/