“The Swartzentruber Amish community in Cattaraugus County, New York are in danger of having their horse-drawn carriages run into the ditch by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s all-renewable-energy express train. That train is barreling out of Albany station and aims to plant huge numbers of wind turbines and solar panels across upstate New York, including the 340-megawatt Alle-Catt wind project.
But the Swartzentruber, who are among the most conservative of the Amish, might derail some of Cuomo’s efforts to turn New York into the climate-change promised land. And it may be the Amish sect’s religious devotion and the First Amendment that does the derailing.
Let me explain. Last year, New York passed a law requiring the state’s utilities to be getting 70 percent of the electricity they sell from renewables by 2030 and to be selling 100 percent “clean” electricity a decade later. Thus, Cuomo wants lots of renewable-energy capacity built in New York and he wants it done as soon as possible. That was made apparent last month when Cuomo’s appointees at the New York State Siting Board rendered a quick 5-0 vote to approve the Alle-Catt project, which if built, would be the biggest non-hydro renewable project in the northeastern U.S.”
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Bryce, Robert. Real Clear Energy 30 July 2020.