Howard wind developer hoping for full 2010 construction season

Howard, N.Y.

Despite a lack of credit, a wind farm developer still believes turbines can start going up in Howard in 2010.

Wind energy developer EverPower Renewables officials still hope to get some ground work completed before winter, but there are several hurdles left, according to project manager Kevin Sheen.

“We’re still hoping to be able to get some kind of work started this year,” Sheen said.

EverPower is planning to build 25 2.5-megawatt turbines in the southern part of the Town of Howard. The projected locations are along Turnpike Road and along the ridge above Stephens Creek and County Route 27. The electricity generated by the project is to be sold to the Steuben Rural Electric Co-op.

The problem now, Sheen said, is a lack of financing — which has been hard for wind companies to get since the Wall Street meltdown in late 2008.

“We have things to work out still,” Sheen said, adding the company needs to finalize a host community agreement with the Town of Howard, as well as a Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement with the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency.

The timeline for credit also affects how soon tower construction can start.

“We need to order the turbines,” Sheen said, adding if some work can be started this year, it will push up the need for turbines.

Initially, EverPower officials were unsure what turbines to use on the project. The two choices mentioned by EverPower officials in the past were the Clipper Liberty turbines and Nordex turbines.

“We think we’re going to go with the Nordex machines,” Sheen said.

Clipper Liberty turbines have not been well-received, with many issues affecting their performance. The First Wind project in Lackawanna, where eight Liberty turbines are installed, have needed to be dismantled twice for repairs. The 50 turbines in service in First Wind’s project in Cohocton also have needed to be serviced just months after the project went online, as more than a dozen turbines showed the possibility of cracking blades.

EverPower first contacted town officials in late 2004 with a preliminary construction date of 2006. Various delays in enacting town laws, acquiring leases and two lawsuits filed by residents have delayed the start of construction.