Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Photo simulations submitted for LIPA's proposed offshore wind farm offer a limited, possibly undersized view of the 40-turbine array as it will appear

Photo simulations submitted for LIPA's proposed offshore wind farm offer a limited, possibly undersized view of the 40-turbine array as it will appear in South Shore waters, a town supervisor charged yesterday.

After a study it commissioned last fall by a third-party imaging firm, the Town of Babylon produced its own photo simulations of the wind farm and found that, by comparison, the turbines portrayed in the Long Island Power Authority's submissions "look smaller," according to a report expected to be released today.

The study found the LIPA photo analysis, conducted by an outside company, to be "incomplete," lacking in resolution and a range of lens depictions to provide a breadth of viewpoints. Babylon Supervisor Steve Bellone said the analysis, combined with a study his office conducted of the estimated construction costs of the project, lead to concerns.

"It's definitely not an accurate representation of what people will see if this project ever were to be built," said Bellone, who will present his findings at a conference at Gilgo Beach this morning at 11. "We consistently see an effort with this project to exaggerate the benefits and downplay the costs, financial or otherwise."

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