February 24, 2017
New York

Wayland wind project approved

By Jasmine Willis | Genesee Country Express | Feb 23, 2017 | www.dansvilleonline.com

WAYLAND – It might not be long before the community sees some wind turbines over Loon Lake area in the town of Wayland.

Much of the town board meeting held Feb. 13 was spent discussing the possibility of eight or 10 wind turbines being set up in the area.

The Baron Winds Wind Project by EverPower is a proposed 300 MW wind farm located in the towns of Avoca, Cohocton, Dansville, Fremont, Howard, and Wayland in Steuben County.

According to EverPower’s website,the project will be located on primarily farmland and recreational land and could include up to 120 turbines when completed. The project’s point of interconnection is expected to be in the existing Canandaigua substation in the Town of Cohocton. Current plans will utilize a turbine at 100 meter (330 feet) hub height and will include a series of project roads and overhead and underground collection and transmission lines throughout the project area.

According to EverPower’s website, the project will be subject to the New York State Article 10 Siting Process and will also be required to obtain other state, local and federal permits prior to construction and operation. If built the project would result in an estimated 320,000 tons of CO2 emission reductions, and will span up to 40,000 acres.

Supervisor George Ott said that the meeting held at the town of Howard helped him understand the wind project process.

Loon Lake resident Steve Kress is concerned that the wind turbines will be much too loud if they are 1,000 feet from his home.

“You want to put up these wind mills 1,000 feet from people’s homes and we don’t think that is reasonable,” he said. “People in Wayland are not interested. We don’t want them. That is too close for a wind mill.”

Councilman Gordon Sick said that the town of Howard talked about a new style of wind mills that make a lot less noise.

Kress wants a reasonable law to go in effect that would consider where the wind turbines are located.

Town Historian Carol Mykel said the planning board went through the process step by step and there will only be about eight turbines put up on the New Galen Road area.

“It is not considered unreasonable,” she said. “We have no objections for wind mills coming in. We need to control what they do with them, and the laws for the future.”

Mykel and Ott said that the wind turbines do not make much noise, and they have both gone to see them in Cohocton.

“There are few homes down there (New Galen Road) and no one there will complain,” Ott said. I been up to Cohocton to listen to them. There are about 10 of them up there in a short space, and I can’t hear anything.”

Kress added he is not against wind mills, but is just concerned about the noise they cause at night.

This project is scheduled to start in 2019.

A windmill law was passed at the Feb. 13 meeting that will allow the town to have more control over the project.

They will be placed on individual properties and the owners need to give permission.

Otto understands some people are against this and he can’t make a law that pleases everyone.

The next town board meeting is March 13 at 7 p.m.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/02/24/wayland-wind-project-approved/