March 25, 2008
New York
New York
SILVER CREEK – A wind energy project between the towns of Hanover and Villenova received an initial nod of approval Monday from the Hanover Town Board.
Town Supervisor Kathy Tampio got approval to enter into an agreement with Environmental Design and Research to look into a large project with Noble Energy for wind power. The project would be in the rural uninhabited lands in the south part of Hanover and in Villenova.
The design calls for 67 turbines producing about 100.5 megawatts of power. According to Lael Eason, a representative from Noble, that would be enough power for 40,000 to 50,000 homes.
Tampio said negotiations with private land owners have been taking place for more than a year. She said none of the land is state-owned.
Noble has a similar project in Bliss, Wyoming County. In that community, about 25 percent of the windmills were turned on last week. Eason said they expect all of the turbines in Bliss to be turned on within a week.
Tampio said she has been working with Villenova officials for quite some time. She said she is a supporter of wind energy and hopes that a large-scale project may inspire some smaller commercial operations to put in turbines to produce electricity.
“It’s cleaner power than a lot of other choices,“ she said.
According to the agreement, Noble will set up an escrow account that will be used to pay the bills for engineering or legal fees for the townships during the construction process.
“We are anticipating a formal application in May,“ said the supervisor.
By Susan Chiappone
Chautauqua Correspondent
25 March 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/03/25/board-agrees-to-consider-wind-power/