September 29, 2012
New York

Wind project stalled

2012-09-29 | www.endeavornews.com

ALLEGANY – Legal roadblocks have largely been lifted for a proposed 29-turbine industrial wind energy generating facility spread over a wide swath of property near Allegany, N.Y., but the economics of the project have kept it on hold.

A spokesman for EverPower Wind Holdings Inc. said there are numerous reasons for the delay, including a requirement that the company pay the Town of Allegany $500,000 for an escrow fund to assure compliance with a host community agreement. Without the payment, a permit issued for the project by court order will expire.

EverPower has proposed to string the turbines on hilltops covering 9,000 acres near the Chipmonk and Knapp Creek area, north of Olean.

Many wind energy companies have postponed construction plans due to uncertainties about the fate of a federal government tax credit, without which the projects may not be profitable.

EverPower faces another challenge after announcing changes in its design plan. The new document calls for erecting turbines that are nearly 500 feet tall – about 40 percent higher than the Statue of Liberty – and a citizens’ group that sued the town in 2011 in an attempt to block the plan sees the change as a new issue it will contest in court.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/09/29/wind-project-stalled/