OBSERVER file photo Solar farms are growing at a rapid pace across Chautauqua County — and on some prime farmland.

Chautauqua County legislators came out of their slumber right before groundhog Dunkirk Dave and decided to take a bold stance in late January. In voting at the monthly meeting to oppose the placement of wind turbines in Lake Erie, members in attendance were unanimous in their sentiment.

State Sen. George Borrello was in Mayville that evening for what he considered a historic action. With the vote, Chautauqua became the first county in the state to go on record against wind turbines being in the Great Lakes.

“I’m truly proud to be an alumnus of this organization and very proud that we are going to stand up and say what’s best for the people of Chautauqua County, and the people, not just of New York state, but for everyone in every state in every county that surrounds the Great Lakes,” he said.

So now that the county has put forth its sentiments about the waters, what is it doing in regard to our lands? Solar projects have become all-too-common on acreage that was once prime property for agriculture and grape growing. In the north county, wind farms have become prominent in the towns of Hanover, Villenova, Arkwright, Stockton and Charlotte.

Numerous other renewable proposals are in front of Town Boards across the region this month while others have been passed in recent years. What is so hypocritical is the overwhelming sentiment of this red county.

Many residents here — especially those in the city of Dunkirk — are still steaming over the mothballing of the NRG Energy Inc. power plant at the end of 2015. Not only did the facility provide the region with stability and a power independence, it also provided big bucks in the form of payments in lieu of taxes to the city of Dunkirk, its school district and Chautauqua County. At one point, the revenues totaled a combined $10 million per year. Since its closing in 2016, the revenues have decreased greatly to where they are negligible today, barely a blip on the assessment rolls.

One local official who appeared fed up with the generous tax breaks for renewables in recent weeks was Hanover town Supervisor Lou Pelletter. During a discussion regarding a proposed 250-megawatt lithium-ion battery storage project, Pelletter was downright cynical of the potential benefits the $2.2 million project would bring that would ultimately lead to two to three full-time positions.

“When it comes to the (payment in lieu of taxes agreement), I’m not interested in the school getting anything; I’m not interested in the county getting anything; and I’m not interested in them saying we’re going to cut out all the sales tax,” the supervisor said.

Those PILOT deals are worked out through the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency. Mark Geise, president and chief executive officer, has been consistent in his message. If the local municipality backs the project, his staff will help reach the deal on a payment plan.

What is not the IDA’s problem comes down to this: if the county is taking a stand on renewables in the water, why won’t it speak out on placement on lands? It has the ability through its Planning Department or a Comprehensive Plan.

Though Chautauqua County’s current Economic Development Strategy notes a need to contribute to the fiscal sustainability of the county – either in terms of tax revenue generated as a result of economic growth, program income, and dedicated funding streams; and/ or in a decreased need for public spending, particularly on social services — there are no guidelines regarding how to move forward with renewable energy projects. It is almost as if the Republican leadership knows it disagrees with the concept, but is allowing the door to stay open to any future proposals to give some sort of appearance of economic progress.

This corner firmly believes in a diversified state grid for electricity, that includes the current mix of renewables, nuclear, natural gas and hydropower. Looking at the New York Independent System Operator real-time mix, wind and solar are on the low end of that spectrum — often less than 8%.

That means traditional methods, including fossil fuels, are what’s keeping the state powered. In other words, we cannot produce those forms of electricity here, but we will import it from Pennsylvania or Ohio.

In the meantime, local governments strapped for cash — even those led by Republican leadership criticizing the electric school bus issue — seem to welcome solar panel projects that ultimately decrease the tax rolls. It is contributing to the grid, but it is not helping to keep the lights on if we have an energy emergency.

While we’re on the topic, one of the big talking points with renewables concerns decommissioning of the projects. No one had that vision 70 years ago when the Dunkirk power plant was built and look at the standstill that site faces.

Borrello, who hailed the lawmakers’ actions in January, also made this point about renewable projects during a video presentation at an IDA meeting in 2020. “I think they’re going to put these things up, they’re going to gobble up all of the tax subsidies and all of the other taxpayer money that supports them. They’re going to sell them off and the first time that these falter, they’re going to either let those things rot or they’re going to sell off the mineral rights to the highest bidder and (affected residents) will now be seeing gravel pits, and gas wells and everything else on their properties that they didn’t bargain for before because quite frankly they didn’t have enough assistance when it came to signing these contracts,” he said. “We should not be giving these tax credits. They are wasteful, they are huge compared to the number of jobs they create, and it’s not good use of taxpayer money.”

Local officials have the ability to stop these incentives. So far, their lack of action has left the residents powerless.

John D’Agostino is editor of The Post-Journal, OBSERVER and Times Observer. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 716-487-1111, ext. 253.