USA - Two more wind projects proposed for Steuben and Livingston counties

The talk of wind turbines continues to blow through Steuben and Livingston counties. Three towns are currently in different stages of the proposed projects. The Town of Cohocton planning board had a special meeting Friday night at the municipal building to discuss becoming the lead agency in the Cohocton Wind Power Project. “We sent letters out saying we were interested in becoming the lead agency,” Sandy Fox, Cohocton planning board chairman, said. UPC Wind Management LLC, whose U.S. main office is based in Massachusetts, is proposing the project. Fox added he did not know where the company wanted to construct turbines, or how many were being proposed, but said the project is a “decent-sized wind farm.” It would still be another month before the lead agency is decided, Fox said. “We have to wait 30 days to see if anyone else is interested in being the lead agency,” Fox said.

According to UPC's Web site, the company was formed by principals of UPC Group, one of Europe's largest wind farm developers, to pursue projects in the United States. UPC is currently developing over 2,500 megawatt wind energy projects in several different states, including Hawaii, New York, Vermont and Maine. The Town of Nunda received an application from Pennsylvania-based Community Energy to construct a meteorological tower in the area. “It's a wind energy company requesting to put (the tower) up.” Bob Lloyd, Nunda zoning officer, said. “They want to determine whether they want to proceed or not.”
Renewable energy companies frequently use meteorological towers over the period of one year to test if there is a good enough wind source for a viable project. The year's worth of date also is commonly collected to receive funding from banks. “We need at least a year's worth (of data) to fully evaluate the area,” Brian Cocca, Community Energy development associate, said. Cocca said the company has signed contracts with landowners in the area. He added he was not at liberty to say how many contracts have been signed.

The Steuben County Industrial Development Agency has taken lead agency in Hartsville, as approved by the town board in December. Jim Sherron, Steuben County IDA executive director, said the IDA will be negotiating a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) payment for the town, as well as the school districts that will be involved. No permits have been submitted to the IDA as of this point, he added. “We are trying to keep all the PILOTs similar throughout the county” Sherron said. “We have monitored payments received for like projects throughout the state.” Sherron added the PILOT is generally divided among the taxing authorities by a formula from real property tax, and will be divided dependent upon the siting of the towers and the districts they fall into. The PILOT would be based upon $5,300 per year per megawatt, Sherron said. An example he gave would have a 100-megawatt windfarm generating $530,000 per year of PILOT payments.