Democratic congressional candidate Kim Myers toured the Fenner Wind Farm in Madison County on Thursday calling for more renewable energy. Myers said she would support more tax breaks and incentives for renewable energy if she is elected.
“It’s a matter of not waiting until we’re at the cliff," Myers said. "We have the opportunity now to get more communities and companies to bring this type of renewable energy to our communities.”
Myers also said she supports nuclear power because it is cleaner than fossil fuels.
“I don’t think we have to be all or nothing because there are certain places where wind turbines or other renewable energies wouldn’t work," Myers said. "We have to look at a broad base and not a single type of solution.”
Myers is running against Republican Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney for the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Richard Hanna (R-Barneveld). Tenney criticized Hanna in 2015 for voting against a measure that would strike down a part of President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan. Tenney called new Environmental Protection Agency regulations of carbon emissions from power plants “a job killer" that would not have much of an effect on the climate.
Myers said jobs change and labor would be needed to install and maintain renewable energy such as wind turbines.
“You can deny science if you choose to, if that’s what you want to do," Myers said. "We have a responsibility as members of Congress, as members of the community and as a parent to do everything we can for the future of our children. That’s what I would do because the science shows we need renewable energy.”
The Fenner Wind Farm has 20 turbines that can power about 12,000 homes annually. New York's 22nd Congressional District stretches from Binghamton to Pulaski, and includes part of the Mohawk Valley.