More than 75 people attended FORE’s seminar on renewable energy, Saturday, at the Tally-Ho Restaurant in Richfield Springs, according to FORE spokespeople Kay Sheldon Moyer and Shirley Mower. The forum focused on biodiesel and wind energy and what it is like living on a wind farm. The afternoon started with Paris Reidhead, a Hartwick resident who has spent many years investigating and researching the possibilities of pressing canola seeds for biodiesel. His experience in the field is vast, but his focus was on the history of biodiesel and geo-political interference with its feasibility. Reidhead said biodiesel from canola seeds costs 1 BTU (unit used for energy content) of energy in order to produce 3 BTUs of usable fuel, which he said is a really good investment. Another local resident, Tim Downing, worked with Reidhead to produce the seed and transform it into a biofuel. Long term, Reidhead would like to launch a local cooperative so farmers in this area can produce their own fuel. Reidhead concluded by saying we are in the face of the crisis point in energy and have no choice but to find local sources of fuel to meet our demands in the United States. He also said canola oil production for biodiesel is something we can do here, using the byproduct to feed cattle while producing oil for energy consumption. Next up were two women, Ann Jones and Donna Griffin, who are landowners that came from the Canastota area to speak about their experiences of living among wind turbines on the Fenner Wind Farm. Griffin leases her land to two wind turbines while Jones does not directly benefit from the turbines in her backyard, but said she does benefit via the PILOT program that helps the county, town, and school. Griffin and Jones said they feel especially good that, by having these turbines in their area, they are doing something to protect their children’s future. The last speaker was Dale Cocca, a Community Energy Development team associate for the Jordanville Wind Farm, who spoke about the wind energy and the industry on a global, regional, and local scale. Cocca’s take-home message was, as everyone dives into the details of the Jordanville Wind Farm, to remember the environmental benefits of wind energy compared to other sources of energy, its effectiveness, and the enormous economic benefits it provides to communities.
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