June 8, 2011
New York

Thruway wind turbines coming

Steve Orr, democratandchronicle.com 8 June 2011

In a move that will provide many New Yorkers their first up-close-and-personal view of wind turbines, the New York State Thruway Authority plans to begin this fall with installation of turbines along the far-western end of the toll road.

All five would be erected on authority-owned land, presumably not far off the roadway. Toll money would pay for them, but no cost estimates are available yet. It’s also not known how large the turbines would be, authority spokesman R.W. Groneman said today. But he did add they likely wouldn’t be as large the 400-plus-foot-tall behemoths that have been discussed for offshore use.

Each Thruway turbine would produce at least 100 kilowatts for use by the authority, which suggests they’d be on the small side. But this story in the Dunkirk, Chautauqua County Observer suggests they won’t be so small, either. Any extra electricity would be sold back into the power grid.

Work is to begin this fall on the first turbine, which will go up in Dunkirk, Chautauqua County at Exit 59, which passers-by might remember as the exit near the campus of SUNY-Fredonia. Three others are at or near exits in Chautauqua County, and one is at an exit just over the line in Erie County.

Below is a map showing the locations. If you compare it to wind potential maps, like this or this, you’ll see why these locations near the Lake Erie shoreline make some sense as turbine locations.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/06/08/thruway-wind-turbines-coming/