US authorities back ROCOR monastery's protest against wind farm construction
The US Department of Agriculture has sided with the Orthodox monastery in a dispute over the construction of a wind farm near the monastery.
The Donald Trump administartion has backed the protest of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville against the construction of wind farms. An official statement in defense of the historic Orthodox monastery was published by representatives of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), reports the UOJ in the USA.
The government agency confirmed its readiness to protect the monastery's lands from encroachment by commercial entities. "The Trump USDA stands with Holy Trinity Monastery as they work to protect this historic property from foreign-owned wind projects," a USDA spokesman told Heartlander News, expressing the intention to protect this historic monastery from wind energy projects owned by foreign proprietors.
The monastery is opposing Terra-Gen LLC’s proposed Rolling Hills project, which could include about 50 turbines in rural Herkimer County. The company said the project remains in its early planning stages and that its eventual footprint is expected to be substantially smaller than preliminary estimates.
The Holy Trinity Monastery has been carrying out its spiritual ministry for nearly one hundred years and is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places. The monastery cemetery has become the resting place for four thousand Orthodox Christians, and the monastery itself attracts numerous pilgrims from around the world each year. The Trump administration had previously revoked approval for a similar energy project in the state of Idaho, where the installation of wind turbines had been planned near a World War II military memorial.
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