Roaring Brook PILOT talks to resume

PROPOSED TURBINES: Two municipalities, Lowville school district plan March meeting with Atlantic Wind

MARTINSBURG — Local municipal officials next month plan to resume stalled talks with a developer concerning a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement on the proposed 39-turbine Roaring Brook Wind Farm.

"I think you're going to see this go," said Martinsburg Town Supervisor Terry J. Thisse. "I just don't know if it will happen this year."

Representatives of the town, Lewis County and Lowville Academy and Central School District over the past two years have met periodically with officials from Atlantic Wind about a possible PILOT plan, according to Richard J. Graham, county attorney. Another meeting likely will be held in early March, although a specific date has not been set, Mr. Graham said.

"We thought we should get back together," said Kenneth J. McAuliffe, Lowville Academy district superintendent, noting the sides haven't met face to face for several months.

The developer throughout the process has floated an informal offer of $8,000 per megawatt, or $624,000 each year, according to Mr. McAuliffe. However, municipal leaders have yet to agree to a formal deal that could be brought to their respective boards and the Lewis County Industrial Development Agency for approval, he said.

Atlantic Wind, a subsidiary of Iberdrola Renewables, is proposing a 78-megawatt wind farm on 5,280 acres just south of Maple Ridge Wind Farm. Iberdrola operates that 195-turbine wind farm, which also extends into the towns of Harrisburg and Lowville.

The Martinsburg town Planning Board in December approved a site plan for the project, and an Iberdrola spokesman said at the time that construction could begin as soon as late summer 2010 and conclude by the end of next year.

However, PILOT talks have not advanced. And, over the past couple of months, the developer's 37-turbine Hardscrabble Wind Farm project in Herkimer County has been offered funding through the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency and received most needed approvals for its PILOT and site plan.

The 20-year PILOT plan approved by the Herkimer County Legislature offers $8,000 per megawatt with an annual cost of living increase of 2.5 percent to 5 percent, along with a one-time $400,000 construction impact payment, according to a recent story in the Utica Observer-Dispatch. If Iberdrola or a related developer approves higher per-megawatt payments on projects in Jefferson or Lewis counties within Hardscrabble's first three years of payments, the per-megawatt amount would increase to the higher level, the story states.

A PILOT agreement approved Feb. 4 for the Galloo Island Wind Farm in the town of Hounsfield provides $2.14 million annually for a 252-megawatt project, or $8492 per megawatt.

Iberdrola also is working on the proposed 64-turbine Horse Creek Wind Farm in the towns of Clayton and Orleans, and is studying a project in Hammond and Morristown, St. Lawrence County.

Some local leaders here said they had the impression that advancement of the Hardscrabble project would push Roaring Brook to a 2011 start, but that may not necessarily be the case.

"The Hardscrabble project moving forward doesn't mean it comes at the expense of our Roaring Brook development efforts, or any other project for that matter," Paul C. Copelman, a communications manager with Iberdrola Renewables, said via e-mail. "We believe that we could still begin construction of Roaring Brook this year, but it is contingent on our development efforts continuing to make progress."

Local leaders here are trying to maximize the value of a Roaring Brook PILOT without jeopardizing the project, Mr. McAuliffe said.

"At this time of declining state aid, this is a way to bring private tax revenue," he said.

The superintendent said the Maple Ridge Wind Farm's Empire Zone status likely will affect Roaring Brook PILOT negotiations.

Flat Rock Windpower, the company under which Maple Ridge was developed, was decertified in June from the state tax-incentive program. The company, while awaiting a decision on its appeal, chose in December to pay only $2.29 million of its $8.99 million annual PILOT payment, claiming it should pay only the so-called "fallback amount" without certainty of EZ benefits.

The involved taxing jurisdictions claim the wind farm is in default, and the two sides may square off in state Supreme Court if Flat Rock's appeal is unsuccessful.