April 28, 2016
New York

Apex eyes Barre for new wind project site

By MALLORY DIEFENBACH | The Daily News | April 28, 2016 | www.thedailynewsonline.com

BARRE – Apex Clean Energy has announced it’s seeking to discuss the feasibility of a wind project in the town of Barre.

The project, called Heritage Wind, will be the second project proposed by Apex in Orleans County. The first is Lighthouse Wind, a highly-contested project in Yates and Somerset.

“Apex has spent the last few years working in Orleans County, and we’ve talked to hundreds of local people who are interested in bringing more wind energy to their county,” said Mark Goodwin, president and COO of Apex Clean Energy in a news release. “Orleans County is blessed with a very strong wind resource, and we look forward to working with the people of Barre to bring the benefits of wind energy to their community as well.”

Dan Fitzgerald, senior director of development for Apex, said in the release that not only will Apex be working with Barre through the Article 10 process, but with the town and village of Albion, Orleans County and “many other stakeholders throughout project development.”

The map which Heritage Wind provides on its website showing the area of interest goes north toward Fancher and dips below the Orleans-Genesee County line toward Elba.

According to Cat Mosley, Apex public affairs manager, the Heritage Wind project will be similar to the Lighthouse Wind project in that it could generate 200 megawatts of energy.

The exact number of potential towers, or their height or locations, was not immediately available Wednesday evening.

According to the Heritage Wind website, “Local wind data confirms that the area under consideration is ideal for a project of this size, which would produce enough safe, pollution-free energy to power up to 53,000 New York homes.”

Mosley said Apex spent a lot of time in Orleans and Niagara counties and found a lot of support in Orleans County for wind energy projects.

Heritage Wind is currently gauging interest in the process for Barre and will be conducting a massive outreach to stakeholders and landowners.

“It’s a process and it takes time,” she said, mentioning agriculture is big in Orleans County and Apex hopes to bring in a new crop with the wind farms.

For people who are interested in learning more about the Heritage Wind project, visit www.heritagewindpower.com.

[rest of article available at source]


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/04/28/apex-eyes-barre-for-new-wind-project-site/