Herkimer, N.Y.
The Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency has issued a negative declaration concerning the state environmental quality review for the proposed Atlantic Wind project in the towns of Fairfield and Norway, paving the way for the venture to move forward.
IDA Board of Directors Chairman John Piseck said Tuesday that the negative declaration means that it has been determined that the project will not result in significant, adverse environmental impacts.
“The town of Fairfield was the lead agency in the SEQR process, and the issuance of this negative declaration on our part satisfies our obligation to the project,” he said.
The Fairfield Town Council voted last month to accept the environmental impact statement, which summarizes the SEQR, giving them 30 days to deny, approve or approve with conditions a permit that allows the project within the municipality. Acceptance of the EIS, however, does not guarantee approval. A decision on the issuance of a permit is planned to come at the council’s Jan. 14 meeting.
As for the payment in lieu of taxes agreement for the proposed Hardscrabble Wind Power Project, IDA Executive Director Mark Feane said the negotiations are continuing.
“The agreement is not yet ready for a public hearing, as the final terms have not been agreed upon,” said Feane. “Until a public hearing has been held, the IDA can not take action on it.”
The Herkimer County Legislature adopted a resolution last year proposing the amount for annual payments in lieu of taxes related to wind energy projects. The per megawatt payment, set by the county at $8,000, means $592,000 annually could be split by the affected parties. With the agreement spanning 20 years, as proposed by the county, the project’s potential benefit totals over $11.8 million. Revenue-sharing agreements could set how the payments are divided, with the proposal calling for 20 percent for the county and 40 percent each to the towns and school district.
“The proposed PILOT agreement will be a deviation from our standard PILOT agreement, so it is subject to a public hearing,” said Feane. “Ultimately the decision on how the funds will shared between the taxing jurisdictions will come from the developer and the jurisdictions themselves.”
Feane added the IDA’s involvement in the process is to serve as a conduit. “The IDA, because of the legal powers granted to it, has the ability to affect the agreement,” he said. “The IDA is the entity through which the agreement will go through, but the terms will come from the involved parties.”
Atlantic Wind, a subsidiary of Iberdrola Renewables, is seeking to develop a $200 million wind powered generating facility of up to 74 megawatts in the towns of Fairfield and Norway that is anticipated to include approximately 37 wind turbines, each with a generating capacity of 2.0 megawatts, with 25 turbines in the town of Fairfield and 12 turbines in the town of Norway.
Each wind turbine will include a 90 meter diameter, three bladed rotor mounted on a 100 meter tall tubular steel tower with a maximum blade tip height of 476 feet above existing grade.
In addition to the wind turbines, the project will involve construction of two permanent 77 meter meteorological towers, a system of 14 miles of gravel access roads, 20 miles of buried and above-ground electrical interconnect, an interconnection facility to be built adjacent to an existing 115 kilovolt transmission line and an operations and maintenance building.
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