Mireya Navarro of The New York Times posted a number of comments provided by both pro and anti Marcellus shale development.

As if the recent series of hearings and the invitation for written comments from the public were not enough, contingents from both sides of the fracking issue in New York State organized rallies and press conferences this week in anticipation of the close of the comment period on the state’s proposed gas drilling regulations on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, gas industry representatives and supporters of the extraction process known as horizontal hydraulic fracturing hand-delivered thousands of letters to state officials in Albany arguing for the economic benefits of horizontal hydraulic fracturing. The drilling method involves injecting chemically treated water into shale formations underground under high pressure to release natural gas.

“Capitalizing on the tremendous opportunity offered by Marcellus Shale development will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, produce private-sector jobs and attract investment”, said Heather Briccetti, the president of the Business Council of New York State, which is part of a pro-fracking coalition that calls itself Clean Growth Now.

To read more click here.

Rick Karlin writes on the Times Union website - “The fight over whether New York will allow hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, or hydrofracking, came down to a Battle of the Boxes on Tuesday as both opponents and proponents of the practice scrambled to deliver boxes filled with thousands of letters, or comments, to the Department of Environmental Conservation by Wednesday’s deadline.

Once delivered, the DEC will review the comments as part of their effort to decide if New York should allow fracking, as it is commonly termed…

Here at the Capitol, gas industry insiders as well as pipe fitters and even organic farmers spoke in favor of fracking, since it would create jobs and generate money to hard-pressed farmers who could lease their lands to drillers…

Later in the day, a group of landowners, led by GOP Sen. Tom Libous, shown above, displayed letters in support of drilling say they will probably submit about 12,000.

“We’ve got the information. I think we can answer the questions,” Libous said, adding he doesn’t believe the comment period should be extended.

To read more click here.

Erik Kriss of the NY Post writes:

“Senate Energy Committee chairman George Maziarz said that shuttering the nuclear power plant in Westchester County — which supplies about one third of New York City’s electricity — would take more than 2,000 megawatts off the grid and send electric rates “through the roof.”

The Republican legislator from hydropower-rich Niagara Falls told upstate’s Capitol Pressroom radio show that he likes Cuomo’s proposal to ship more upstate power downstate through an improved transmission system.

But he told The Post there’s not enough upstate power to replace Indian Point, saying energy would have to come from outside New York.

He said closing Indian Point “would be both an economic disaster and just an unnecessary reaction to taking over 2,000 megawatts of power that’s produced off the grid.”

To read more click here.

According to an article in the Democrat and Chronicle:

“Eastman Business Park in Rochester and Greece has reduced power plant and other air emissions, according to a sustainability report issued this week.

The business park occupies more than 1,200 acres in Rochester and Greece and was formerly known as Kodak Park when it was devoted entirely to Eastman Kodak Co. But now, besides Kodak, some 30 other companies employing about 4,000 people are located there.

The environmental improvements reflect changes made in 2010 at the park to emphasize clean technology over chemical processing.

The park has cut power plant air emissions by 22 percent and SARA-reportable emissions by 11 percent. SARA refers to the 1987 Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act. Since 1987, according to the report, emissions of methylene chloride have plummeted by 99 percent.”

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According to an op-ed in the NY Post:

“Albany pols may be about to play Scrooge with New Yorkers’ electric bills: They’re lining up with greenie activists and opportunistic labor unions to hike them by five bucks a month — or more.

State legislation would force utilities like Con Edison to distribute an increasing share of juice from solar-power suppliers.

Sponsors call it a “jobs bill” — but wallet-shredder would be more apt: Con Ed would have to spend as much as 10 times market rates to buy the boutique power.

Make no mistake: This is a $325 million-a-year tax on utilities, which will pass it along to ratepayers — in the form of a $5 hike in monthly bills.

The Business Council of New York figures it will cost more than $40 billion over 30 years. That’s a back-breaking levy on utilities — or, rather, average New Yorkers.”

To read more click here.

T.J. Rodgers, president and CEO of Cypress Seminconductor, authored the following op-ed. It appeared in the Wall Street Journal (a subscription-based publication):

“At the end of the recently released film “Margin Call,” the chairman of the fictional investment bank that triggered the mortgage-backed securities meltdown sits in his executive dining room, looking down on the Hudson River sunset while enjoying a steak and an expensive bottle of Bordeaux. Why not? He has just saved billions for his shareholders by dumping the firm’s entire “toxic loan” portfolio in one hectic trading day. Just before giving a bonus to the brilliant analyst who foresaw the meltdown only hours in advance, the chairman predicts, “There’s going to be a lot of money made coming out of this mess.”

Wall Street understands how to make money, up-market or down. “Margin Call” may fuel Occupy movement ire, but in creating mortgage-backed securities, Wall Street did nothing other than facilitate home-financing access to the next tier of less-qualified home buyers, as demanded by every president since Bill Clinton. After that, the bankers did exactly what their shareholders wanted: bundle those risky loans into securities, sell them to lock in the profits, and dump the risk right back onto the federal government—where it belonged.

My purpose is not to debate the morality of mortgage-backed securities but to update the Law of Unintended Consequences with the corollary Law of Misguided Subsidies: Whenever Washington disrupts a market by dumping subsidies into it, Wall Street will find a way to pocket a majority of the money while the intended subsidy beneficiaries are harmed by the resulting market turmoil.”

To read more click here.

Larry Rulison of the Times Union writes:

“At Barber Brothers Dairy Farm in Schuylerville, Kevin Bailey sees the potential for New York state’s emergent solar industry. Bailey is owner of High Peaks Solar, a Troy company that installs solar electric systems.

Although government subsidies for solar-electric installations in New York state have shrunk in recent years, Bailey says his business is thriving.

He’s found a niche selling large solar systems to farms.

Unlike many who fret that the U.S. solar industry is fighting a losing battle against the Chinese — who have become the largest producers of solar panels in the world — Bailey likes his prospects in the solar business. He is planning to double his workforce to 14 people in the coming months to keep up with his backlog of projects.”

To read more click here.

David Robinson of the Buffalo News writes:

“Whether they realize it or not, consumers in the Buffalo Niagara region are benefiting from natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale every time their furnace kicks on, a local energy provider said Tuesday.

Gary Marchiori, president of Energy Mark, an Amherst energy services firm, said the increased natural gas production from the Marcellus Shale and other shale formations across the country has been driving down natural gas prices.

National Fuel Gas Co. estimates that heating costs for the typical household in Western New York this winter will run about $719 from November to March — $351 less than the $1,070 the average household paid during the winter of 2008-09.

“The direct benefit to consumers is the lower price of regional and local natural gas,” Marchiori said during a forum on the state’s proposed rules for gas drilling sponsored by the World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara.”

To read more click here.

The following editorial appeared in the NY Post:

“Talk about an electric shock.

As The Post’s Bill Sanderson reported yesterday, New Yorkers suffered a 9.6 percent spike in electric rates last year — even as average costs nationwide stayed flat.

The leap here really walloped wallets: A typical monthly bill in city apartments shot up to $77.50 in 2010 from just $70.74 in 2009, according to new federal data.

And don’t blame Con Ed; it only delivers electricity to homes — and it accounts for less than a third of a bill’s total costs.

The real blame starts in Albany, where the Legislature imposed a 500 percent hike on a hidden utilities tax that’s been driving up costs for two years now.”

To read more click here.

David Robinson of the Buffalo News writes:

“National Fuel Gas Co. is launching a pilot program to encourage the use of natural gas-fueled vehicles by businesses.

The state Public Service Commission has given its backing to a program that would offer incentives to customers who buy natural gas vehicles or install fueling stations for them.

The idea behind the program is to provide incentives to overcome the uncompetitive upfront costs that discourage the use of natural gas vehicles and build a network of fueling stations that would make their use more practical.”

To read more click here.