December 20, 2011
New York

Canisteo mulls future wind turbines

By Andrew Poole, Evening Tribune, www.steubencourier.com 18 December 2011

Canisteo, NY – A possible wind power project last publicly discussed three years ago will be addressed in future Canisteo town meetings.
Supervisor John Peisher announced Wednesday that he’d met with two officials from Invenergy, a Chicago-based wind company, regarding studies the company started several years ago in the town to see whether wind in Canisteo could support turbines.
Peisher said the company is hoping to meet with the board in the future to provide an update on the program. The company is still in the process of studying whether winds are appropriate for a turbine farm in Canisteo, and have also been studying whether turbines in the Jasper area are feasible.
While the board hasn’t made a formal decision as to whether it supports local turbine construction, Peisher said the company has spoken with residents in Canisteo regarding the idea.
“We want all the information before we decide whether we’re for or against it. The money is nice, except if it costs you something,” he said.
Eric Miller, Invenergy’s development director, told the Tribune earlier Wednesday that the company is still interested in “doing something down the road” in Canisteo. The company first met with town officials in 2008.
The company has spent the last several years measuring wind power in the area from four monitoring towers. Miller added that the company just finished a project in Wyoming County.
“Now we’re taking a harder look at the Canisteo-Jasper project,” said Miller.
In 2008, Miller told board members that a project on Swale Hill in Canisteo could include 10 turbines and be included in a potential 40-turbine project in Jasper. Such a project, said Miller in 2008, would probably generate $120,000 in Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) fees, to be divided amongst the town, county, and school.
Wednesday Miller said a PILOT amount or number of turbines to be constructed if the company and town approves the project hasn’t been set.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/12/20/canisteo-mulls-future-wind-turbines/