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Greenfield Eyed For Wind Energy

By Brendan McGarry, PostStar.com

1/16/2006

GREENFIELD -- An Ireland-based renewable energy firm is looking to develop 2,000 acres of land on the eastern part of town into a wind farm capable of generating as much as 40 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power up to 12,000 homes.

The project -- plans for which are preliminary and have not been filed with the town -- would result in the construction of between 10 and 17 wind turbines on the Kayaderosseras ridge east of Lake Desolation and south of the Adirondack Park, according to Jack Joyce, vice president of East Coast operations for Airtricity Inc., which maintains European headquarters in Ireland and U.S. headquarters in Chicago, Ill.

Each turbine would stand roughly 400 feet tall from the base of the tower to the top of the three-blade rotor and generate between 1.5 and 2.3 megawatts of electricity.

Joyce said his firm was attracted to the site because of its steady wind and proximity to power transmission lines.

"There's a ton of wind in the Adirondack Park," he said. "This is close to that."

The majority of the land under consideration is owned by Glens Falls-based Finch, Pruyn & Co.

Joyce said his firm is negotiating land-use agreements with the company and other property owners. He said he hopes to formally approach the town about the project by the spring.

Joyce said the wind farm would cost upwards of $50 million and take about two years to build, though installation of the turbines would only take a few months. The company has not filed any local, state or federal permit applications for the project.

The development of wind power will better stabilize energy prices in the country, including New York, Joyce said.

Gov. George Pataki has required one-quarter of the state's electricity to come from renewable resources by 2013. Incentives to develop renewable energy have attracted dozens of renewable energy companies to the state, Joyce said.

Greenfield Supervisor Albert Janik said a company representative visited the town last summer to review tax maps, National Grid lines and other site-related information.

"Environmentally, other than the viewshed, I would think it's relatively low impact," Janik said. "We'll just have to wait and see how it's received by the public."

Airtricity, which plans to add more than 200 megawatts of wind power to the U.S. electrical grid this year, is also developing a 3,500-acre, 40-megawatt wind farm in Munnsville, east of Syracuse.

An unrelated project of seven to 10 windmills is proposed for the north side of Gore Mountain in Johnsburg on property owned by Barton Mines Co.