By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
The Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency will meet Tuesday, but Alle-Catt Wind Energy’s application for a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement isn’t on the agenda.
The IDA held three public hearings on the Alle-Catt PILOT application Dec. 30 and heard from nearly 100 individuals who both favored and opposed the 340-megawatt project valued at more than $618 million.
Transcripts of the three hearings in Freedom, Farmersville and Yorkshire were posted on the IDA website Friday at www.cattcoida.org, IDA executive director Corey Wiktor told the Olean Star. The hearings were attended by about 150 people.
Another 25-30 individuals submitted letters or emails in opposition or support of Alle-Catt’s PILOT application, Wiktor said. They are also available on the IDA website under the projects tab. Under Alle-Catt Wind Energy there is a public hearing link which downloads a PDF of the remarks.
“The IDA board will take some time to review the comments and send questions they want answers to from Alle-Catt officials to me,” Wiktor said. It looks like the earliest the IDA could act on the PILOT application is at its February meeting.
“I’ll send the questions to the company and wait to hear back from them,” he said. “I’m assuming there will be several questions the board members would like answers to. I’ll work with the company to answer them.”
After that it will be up to the board to consider its next steps, Wiktor said. “Some projects are less controversial, but the board is never a rubber stamp.” There is a procedure that is followed in all projects, he added.
This project has been controversial from its start in 2017 when Chicago-based alternative energy giant Invenergy first outlined its plans for what would be the biggest wind farm in the state.
It began then to sign up landowners for turbines and infrastructure including access roads and underground power lines.
Opponents of the wind farm persuaded the Cattaraugus County Legislature in 2018 to approve a resolution asking the IDA not to provide tax breaks to wind farms producing in excess of 5 megawatts of electricity.
Then in November, legislators unanimously approved a resolution submitted without committee review asking the IDA board to hold a public hearing on Alle-Catt’s PILOT application.
The approval came after lobbying for a PILOT for Alle-Catt by municipal officials in Farmersville and Freedom who feared losing host community fees they agreed to years ago that were tied to a PILOT.
Town officials including Farmersville supervisor Pam Tilton, complained that if the wind turbines were going to be sited in Cattaraugus County anyways, the towns should get their PILOT payments and host community agreements,
Alle-Catt is also considering financing the project components located in Cattaraugus County through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which would in effect leave Freedom and Farmersville without host community agreements. Farmersville would get more than $6 million in host community funds over 20 years and Freedom would get about twice as much.
The PILOT for the entire project would mean payments of about $38.7 million to towns, schools and the three counties over 20 years. It’s unclear how payments to municipalities, schools and the county would be affected if the state financed the project rather than the IDA.
The PILOT would also mean a $6.4 million sales tax abatement and $7.5 million in mortgage recording taxes. The Allegany County IDA and Wyoming County IDA both long ago approved PILOTs for the share of the project in their counties.
The 86 turbines would stretch across parts of northern Cattaraugus and Allegany counties and in Arcade in Wyoming County. A power line would be built to move electricity generated by the wind turbines to a site in the town of Yorkshire where it would power the electric grid.
Alle-Catt has also touted the 400 construction jobs the project will utilize over two years, as well as a handful of technicians that will be needed to maintain the wind farm along with other Invenergy wind farms in the region.
Invenergy says it expects to pay out $9.1 million in annual taxes, lease payments, salaries and local services over the 20-year PILOT.
Local officials say another reason for the IDA to approve a PILOT is the sales tax exemption on local purchases — including gravel — is necessary for local purchases.
IDA officials believe it will be necessary for the county legislature to agree to any PILOT offered by the IDA.
The IDA has tightened its requirements for solar farms to be eligible for a PILOT because there was little benefit from local purchasing or local labor.
While the Alle-Catt wind farm would employ about 400 people from the region at the peak of construction, it would result in only about 10-11 permanent jobs, which would be spread across other Invenergy wind farms in the region.
There are more than 30 union members from Cattaraugus and Allegany counties working on the project already, mostly clearing trees for access roads.
