Unlike the wind, our coverage of wind farms is constant

And Windy has stormy eyes that flash at the sound of lies; And Windy has wings to fly above the clouds

JAN. 7, 2010: The proposed wind farm on Galloo Island has been in the news almost every day for the past month. But the issue itself is nothing new.

The first story about Galloo Island wind turbines appeared in the Watertown Daily Times on Oct. 31, 2007. Here is a portion of reporter Rebecca Madden's story:

A 250-megawatt wind farm project could be coming to Galloo Island within the next couple of years.

Robert W. Burgdorf, a Rochester attorney representing Upstate NY Power Co., a company affiliated with the global investment and advisory firm Babcock and Brown, said the company selected the 1,934.6 available acres on Galloo Island as a location for a wind farm due to its productive wind resource.

"This would provide clean, renewable energy to a significant number of homes," Mr. Burgdorf said. "There'd be an undersea cable taking it to the main power grid."

Overall, we've published 157 stories about the Galloo Island wind project, including stories on the tax breakdown for governments, where the underwater cable would come ashore and the potential for eminent domain.

In other words, if you were not aware until recently of the Galloo Island project, its costs and its ramifications, it's your fault.

While the issue of "conflict of interest" regarding the proposed Cape Vincent wind farm came to a boil last year, we were telling readers about it as early as April 2006.

Here is the beginning of a story by Jude Seymour:

Two town officials capable of directly affecting regulations on wind power development here — and a third who would enforce those regulations — have deals with green energy companies regarding properties they own.

Planning Board Chairman Richard J. Edsall and Councilman Marty T. Mason have been involved in continuing discussion about amending the town's zoning law for wind turbines, though both said they disclose their relationship with the companies at every relevant meeting.

While disclosure is one aspect of the town's code of ethics, the business connections of Mr. Mason, Mr. Edsall and Zoning Enforcement Officer Alan N. Wood may breach other tenets established by town leaders more than 35 years ago.

Our archives show that we have printed 1,029 articles with the words "wind farm" since 1991, starting with this one by former reporter Chris Taylor:

A wind-power consultant for a group of utility companies has agreed to look at alternative sites to test wind speed in the town of Cape Vincent because its preferred site is too close to houses and the Seaway Trail, a town official said.

Taylor also in 1991 wrote about the town of Lyme:

Town of Lyme residents at an informational meeting on Tuesday night did not exhibit much enthusiasm for tentative plans to locate a wind power research project on Point Peninsula.

Niagara Mohawk is eyeing a 26-acre site off the Hardscrabble Road on Point Peninsula and two sites in the town of Denmark on Tug Hill. Officials Tuesday night would not rule out the construction, if conditions are favorable, of a "wind farm" of several turbines on Point Peninsula.

The punch line to all this is that for 19 years the Watertown Times has been covering the issue of wind farms, primarily through the reporting of staffers assigned to cover distinct towns and villages.

More than a year ago, when it became obvious that a variety of companies were trying to locate wind farms in Jefferson County, I assigned Nancy Madsen to cover the issue regardless of town. And that has paid off in our newspaper providing the only in-depth, sustained news coverage of the issue. TV, radio and press-release Web sites can't do it.

You can see our stories on a number of Web sites dedicated to stopping wind farms along the St. Lawrence River and in Lake Ontario. We appreciate the attention, but you shouldn't be surprised to know that those sites cherry- pick the Times' stories, editorials and letters to the editor that support their concerns. They ignore those that don't.

And that's the reason our archives are so important. We cover all sides of the issues so our communities can make informed choices.

So if you really want to catch up on what's been said and proposed by local officials for the last two decades, the best place to start is the archives of the Watertown Times.

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