Town of Dryden

DRYDEN TO CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ORDINANCE:

A renewable energy ordinance up for a vote by the Dryden Town Board would be the first in Tompkins County to make zoning provisions for household wind energy.
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The provisions would be for small-scale business and residential solar and wind energy.

The ordinance came about after a Dryden couple's request to build a wind turbine behind their home was rejected.

Sumner said she wants to push the process along because residents and small businesses that add wind or solar equipment could benefit from a variety of incentives. Cash rebates cut the costs of installing wind or solar power, and there are 4 percent loans and other incentives through NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (www.nyserda.org or www.powernaturally.org).

The state — and, at least until 2007, the federal government — are offering income tax credits as well for those who install solar systems approved through NYSERDA.

Sumner said the town's zoning laws are exclusionary, meaning that with no provision to regulate wind turbines or other renewable energy, building permits could not legally be issued for solar or wind energy devices. But building permits are part of the documentation NYSERDA requires for rebates and other programs.
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Sumner and Kwasnowski said the law is careful to distinguish between wind power for household or small-business use and commercial or large-scale wind farms.