Wind developer acknowledges Cape's conflicts of interest

Acciona, the Portugal-based company developing the St. Lawrence Wind Farm in Cape Vincent, has posted the names of the Cape Vincent town officials who have conflicts of interest in regards to their project.

They are: town Councilmen Marty Mason, Joseph Wood and Donald Mason; town Planning Board member Karen Bourcy and town Code Enforcement Officer Alan Wood. Lyme Planning Board member David Borquin is also named.

The Times has repeatedly reported these same conflicts.

Acciona, like other wind power developers, is required to report these conflicts to comply with the state attorney general's Wind Energy Ethics Code. The four developers who are in the midst of plans in Jefferson County signed on with the voluntary code July 29.

The code was introduced Oct. 31, 2008, when two developers, Noble Environmental Power LLC, Essex, Conn., and First Wind, Newton, Mass., signed the pact after an investigation by the attorney general's office into allegations that they were bribing local officials to push through wind projects.