January 14, 2008
New York
New York
Deer River – The Denmark Town Council tonight will consider a six-month windmill moratorium.
While no wind farm developers have approached the town, the proposed moratorium will give the town Zoning Board time to work out and adopt regulations for turbines, including specific setback and other requirements for developers, said Supervisor Thomas W. Fleming.
The intent is not to discourage development but to be prepared for it, he said.
“We want to make sure we have all our bases covered,” Mr. Fleming said.
A public hearing on the proposed moratorium is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the town office on Roberts Road.
The town is located just north of the towns of Harrisburg and Lowville, which – with Martinsburg – host the 196-turbine Maple Ridge Wind Farm, the largest wind farm east of the Mississippi River.
The town to Denmark’s north – Champion in Jefferson County – over the summer adopted a windmill moratorium, as did the towns of Clayton and Lyme. Lyme’s is still in effect, having been extended through this month.
Althought he north country’s first commercial wind farm was developed just to the south of Denmark, this town has hosted turbines in the past.
Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. conducted a two-turbine wind power experiment off Fuller Road from 1992 to 1996. The 0.7-megawatt facility was eventually sold for spare parts in 1997, but the project did provide valuable data for other wind developers interested in the Tug Hill region.
Steve Virkler
Times staff writer
Watertown Daily Times
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/01/14/denmark-to-consider-holding-off-windmills/