December 23, 2006
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
An Arlington, Va.-based company is pursuing the development of a wind farm on Armenia Mountain in Bradford and Tioga counties.
“It’s in the neighborhood of (about) 150 megawatts in size, which would put it somewhere between 60 to 75 turbines, depending on what size turbines we use,” Bob White, project director with AES of Arlington, Va., said.
The wind farm would generate electricity to be sold to a Pennsylvania utility company.
White said the total acreage that is needed for the turbines is estimated to be 150 acres.
“For each turbine, including access roads it is typically less than two acres required,” White noted.
The turbines would be spread out over a large area of about 7,000 acres. The wind farm is to be located on leased private land.
The height of the turbines, from the ground to the hub, which is the center of the blades, would be 265 feet.
White said the permit process for the project will begin in 2007 and, if all goes well, construction would start and finish in 2008.
He said 60 percent of the wind farm would be in Armenia Township, Bradford County and 40 percent would be in Sullivan Township, Tioga County.
“We have a lot of land under lease up there,” he noted.
The site has some good features, he noted.
“It’s got good wind,” he said. “There’s transmission lines in close proximity to the site.”
“We believe it’s a good project; we have a lot of studies and permits to go through before we can say with any certainty the project is going to happen,” he added.
Of the size, he noted, “This is probably a little bigger than average but it’s by no means the biggest one there is.”
If the project goes forward, 150 to 200 jobs would be generated for the construction phase, he said.
He said some of the jobs will come from the region while some jobs are more specialized and will require people to be brought in from other places.
“Even those will need a place to stay and eat in the local area,” he added.
The wind farm, once finished, would generate 10 to 12 full-time jobs in maintenance/operations, he said.
The proposed project was presented to township supervisors earlier this fall.
“They seemed positive on the project, they had a lot of questions for me,” White said.
He noted information sessions for residents regarding the proposed project would be held.
White pointed out the environmental benefits of wind power.
“Electricity produced by wind turbines is a clean, environmentally friendly source of power that comes from an energy source that is renewable,” he said. “For every megawatt of electricity produced from wind it is one less megawatt that needs to be produced using fossil fuels. This leads to cleaner air and less environmental impacts due to mining and drilling for fossil fuels.”
Armenia Township supervisor Ron Wandell said, “I think it’s going to be a good thing myself. We need revenue for our township and this is a good way to create some revenue for our township. I think it’s going to be quite nice.”
He said the proposed site is “right in the center of the mountain.”
He said wind velocity is being monitored. “They think it’s a pretty good area,” he said.
Armenia Mountain, he said, is “pretty high” and “pretty windy.”
Wandell was impressed by the company.
“They’re pretty conscientious,” he said. “They will help our township more than we probably realize. I’m kind of excited about it.”
“Our township is small, and if that will help us help our township out, that will be just great.”
Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2006/12/23/wind-farm-being-considered-for-armenia-mountain/