Gorham, N.Y.
The town Planning Board will hold a hearing tonight on an application for a 100-foot windmill to power a farm on Jones Road, off Route 364. A second application, for a turbine on Hall Road, is in the works as well.
“Both people are interested in renewable energy and not being dependent on the electric companies,” said Gordon Freida, the town’s code officer.
“I’m 73 years old. I’ll never get my investment back for myself,” said Jack Schilbe, owner of the Jones Road property. Renewable energy, he said, is the right thing to do and he wants to set an example for others. He also bought a hybrid vehicle.
“I’m paying $4.20 a gallon for diesel fuel for the farm. The root of the problem is oil,” he said, explaining that he wants to do his part to decrease dependency on foreign oil and hopes others will follow suit.
Schilbe, Freida said, “gets tons of wind,” enough to warrant a 10-kilowatt turbine. “This will power everything for house and shop,” Freida added.
“He’s got probably the most optimum vista in the area, and the winds come right off the lake from the west to his farm,” agreed Anthea Bulman of North East Renewable Energy Resources in Bloomfield, the company selling Schilbe the turbine.
North East Renewable is also working with John Fuller to put a 100-foot windmill on his Hall Road property.
Fuller got town approval for an 80-foot turbine eight months ago, but North East Renewable’s tests on his property showed average wind speeds at that height were not enough to qualify him for the New York State Energy Research Development Authority Incentive Program, Bulman said. The program distributes grants to offset the cost of renewable energy projects.
“After approval of the town, (applicants) can apply,” said Freida.
“You have to have an eligible installer for turbines to be eligible,” added Bulman. She explained the program was set up to disburse funds through the installer. “There are also state and federal tax credits available for green energy projects,” offered Bulman.
Projects without the benefit of grants range in price from $12,000 to $60,000, according to Bulman.
Startup for the Fuller turbine is an estimated $57,000, offset by $25,000 in energy research grant money, explained Freida. Schilbe’s startup will be $54,000, and he, too, will receive $25,000 in energy research money.
In order to erect a turbine, a permit is required from the town, an interconnection agreement with a utility company must be in place, and an environmental impact form must be filled out with a visual addendum stating that there will be no negative impact to vistas. The town also requires a survey showing the turbine’s placement in relation to other properties, eight photos facing all directions and proof of insurance.
“I think a lot of people object to the visual (effect),” said Freida. “Fuller’s (on Hall Road), you probably won’t even know it’s there. The Schilbe one will be more visible, possibly from across the lake,” added Freida, explaining that Schilbe’s farm overlooks Canandaigua Lake.
North East Renewable Energy ordered a Bergy Wind Turbine with a grid-tide 10 inverter for the Schilbe farm from a company in Oklahoma.
Depending on wind, the 10-kilowatt turbine would produce 12,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. “The amount of electricity it produces functions in conjunction with the amount of electricity you are using,” explained Bulman. The grid-tide inverter converts wind energy to electricity.
No money exchanges hands for excess energy produced. Should the turbine produce more energy than the farm is using, there is an interconnection agreement with the utility company to store the excess energy until it’s needed by the farm. “We couldn’t sell Jack a wind turbine that would produce more than his energy usage,” said Bulman.
The Planning Board will hear Schilbe’s project proposal at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Town Hall, 4736 South St. in the hamlet.
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