National Wind Watch: Wind Energy News » Wind project meteorological tower before Orleans Planning Board

YATES – A proposed meteorological tower to measure wind resources in an area of northwestern Yates targeted for a large-scale turbine installation will be considered by the Orleans County Planning Board Thursday.

The planning board will consider a special use permit and site plan review sought by Lighthouse Wind LLC for a 60-meter tower in an open parcel west of Marshall Road near its terminus at Lake Shore Road owned by Donna Bane.

According to Apex Clean Energy, the Charlottesville, Va. company pursuing the Lighthouse Wind project, the tower would be used to determine the strength, direction and consistency of wind in the area.

The tower would also include equipment to monitor bat activity solar energy potential in the area, according to an application to the Yates Planning Board.

The Lighthouse Wind project is designed to deliver 200-megawatts of power to a coal-powered electrical plant in Somerset via 60 to 70 individual turbines. Apex is currently in the process of seeking state approval for the project and agreements with property owners in an area running near Lake Ontario north of Barker and Lyndonville.

The project has been opposed by landowners who live along the shoreline of Yates.

The temporary tower, the second pursued in advance of the project, is part of the state’s requirements for approving wind energy projects.

“In order to comply with this law and ensure that the project site has sufficient wind to support a wind energy facility, we have permitted and erected one met tower for the project, and we are in the process of getting a permit for a second tower,” said Dahvi Wilson, the senior manager of public affairs for Apex. “The data we collect from these towers will help us determine whether any additional towers are necessary.”

The tower would be removed if the Lighthouse Wind project does not move forward, or is no longer needed, Wilson said. Permanent meteorological towers may be installed if the project is built.

The county planning board will also review a clarified application for a multi-million dollar apple storage facility in Yates and consider special use permit requests for a Murray home business and a concrete/blacktop recycling facility in Shelby.