Wind farm project gains final approval

Herkimer, N.Y.

Wind power generation is a reality in Herkimer County.

Representatives from the county Industrial Development Agency and Atlantic Wind, a subsidiary of Iberdrola Renewables, signed the closing documents for the Hardscrabble wind project Thursday.

“This is fantastic for the county of Herkimer,” said IDA Board of Directors Chairman John Piseck. “This project, over the course of its 20 years, will have a $26 to $30 million impact on our county, and that is fantastic news. I am proud to say that Herkimer County is now involved in wind power.”

“We are pleased with the level of cooperation we received throughout this five year process,” said Neil Habig, project developer for Atlantic Wind. “The PILOT agreement that we reached has a lot of moving parts, as it not only involved negotiations with the county, but with towns and school districts as well. In fact, over the course of those five years the West Canada Valley school district has lost its superintendent, the town of Fairfield elected a new supervisor, numerous board and council members have come and gone and regulations governing the project have changed. With all those factors considered, the level of cooperation that we have received has been consistent.”

With all of the documents now signed, Piseck said the construction phase can now begin.

“The stakes are in the ground and the wind turbines have been ordered,” he said, adding that the parts for the 37 windmills to be constructed in the towns of Fairfield and Norway will come from U.S. manufacturers. “This project puts our county on the map when it comes to our support of alternative energy. Not only that, this project will allow the county to provide relief to its taxpayers due to the financial benefits that we will receive, it will bring economic development to two towns and it will benefit two of our county’s school districts. The positive impact that this project will have will be tremendous and far-reaching, and that is why this is an exciting time to be in Herkimer County.”

Habig said he shared in Piseck’s excitement in seeing the project move on to the next phase.

“We are definitely excited to see this project move forward,” he said, adding that residents can expect to see components, equipment and materials rolling in over the coming weeks. “Things have changed over the five years that it took to get us to this point, and seemingly everything aligned in just the right manner so this project could become a reality. This is a great day.”

The county, under the 20-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement, accepted a prorated share of $8,000 per megawatt produced by the project’s 37 turbines. A cost of living adjustment was included for the payments, with a floor of 2.5 percent and a ceiling of five percent. The adjustments will commence this year, so that the January 2012 payment will be a minimum of $8,405 per megawatt, depending on the cost of living. The agreement also calls for a $400,000 construction impact payment to be made to the county within 60 days of the start of construction, and states that if future projects in Lewis and Jefferson counties receive higher per megawatt payment amounts from Iberdrola or a related developer during the three year period from the first per megawatt payment to the county, Herkimer County’s per megawatt amount will increase to the higher level.

In addition, Atlantic Wind has agreed to pay for repairs needed on county and local roads resulting from the construction phase of the project, and has agreed to remedy any interference of emergency 911 communications caused by the turbines.

Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction has been selected by Iberdrola to construct the Hardscrabble wind project. According to a company announcement, Mortenson will erect 37 Gamesa 2.0 megawatt wind turbines to generate a total of 74 megawatts. The project, according to the announcement, represents one of the first major installations of 100-meter towers in North America. In addition, Mortenson will also build access roads, turbine foundations, an operations building and a meteorological tower. The project is expected to become operational by December.