By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
Town of Olean residents expressed their concerns Tuesday over a proposed 95 megawatt wind farm with 24 turbines along mountain ridges in Olean, Allegany and Portville.
Representatives from Liberty Renewables Inc., which has proposed the Hemlock Hollow Wind project, had not met with such a large group of town residents in the three years since the project was proposed.
Initial comments by some of the 20 residents attending the meeting were that no one in the town wanted the turbines. No one who spoke said they were in favor of the project. Concerns were also expressed that the company could not be trusted.
One landowner, Chris Kellner, said he caught two surveyors for the company on his property, which was not under lease, without his permission. He said they told him they knew they were trespassing, but their boss had told them to do it.
Augusta “Gusty” Mead, development manager for Liberty Renewables, said that is not the way crews are supposed to operate and that she would look into it.
Nate Smith, a landowner and businessman, said he didn’t trust the company. He also express concern that the towers and turbines would not be decommissioned if the company went out of business
Supervisor Annette Parker said she’d received one complaint that a Liberty representative had threatened a property owner with eminent domain if they did not sign a lease.
Mead said Liberty had been working on the Hemlock Hollow Wind Project since 2022 when it first approached town officials in Olean and Allegany. She said the company has 95% of the property it needs under lease. Liberty paid property owners to consult with the attorney of their choice to review proposed leases, Mead said. The land under lease represents about half residents and half non-residents, she added.About 40 different landowners have signed leases.
A 150 kilowatt power line from Homer Hill to Dugan Road will link the project to the grid. After power from the wind farm meets the needs of the city of Olean, excess electricity would go into the grid. None would go to New York City, Mead explained.
Under the Article 8 process Liberty Renewables is applying for the 95 megawatt wind project, the earliest it could be put into operation would be in the first quarter of 2029, Mead told the group of residents. Liberty Renewables expects to formally file the application for the wind project early in 2026.
Mead said there would be $95,000 available ($1,000 per megawatt) to conduct studies or pay for attorneys to represent the town in the application process. Of that amount, 75% will go to the town and 25% to community interveners. It will generate enough electricity to power 17,000 homes.
“We want to hear everything you want to say — positive or negative,” Mead told the group.
She said the actual turbine sites — with a concrete base that nearly covers an acre — have not been finalized.
Besides the turbines, access roads and collection lines must be built. Each clearing for the towers covers between 4 and 5 acres.
Mead said because Liberty Renewables will probably take advantage of turbine improvements and end up using ones with a 5.9 megawatt capacity instead of lower powered turbines. That in turn would require a 650-foot tower. “They’re very, very tall,” Mead said. “They are just getting taller. You won’t see 350-400 foot turbines anymore.”
Gary Abraham, an environmental attorney advising the town on wind farm issues, said the town’s 2021 wind law set a 500-foot limit on the height of turbines from blade tip to the ground.
Under the terms of state wind policy, the wind farm developers really don’t have to follow local laws, Abraham noted later. The Siting Commission has never killed a wind project, he said.
Will local residents who do not have a lease get any benefits, like a discount on electricity? one man in the audience asked. Mead said power companies and the state set electric rates.
Another man said he was concerned that his property value would go down because of the wind farm. He was afraid the turbines “will reduce our quality of life.” Mead said studies show they may initially go down, but soon bounce back. Abraham said studies are actually split on the subject of property values.
The town’s 2021 wind law called for a 1,000-foot setback of a wind turbine to a property line. It has since been amended to 1,500 feet. Abraham said the turbines can be heard for up to a mile. Bigger turbines will be louder — especially at night when things are quieter.
A man in the audience asked straight out why the Liberty representatives were meeting with residents after most all the leases had been signed. “Why are you coming in here. You know we don’t want this crap.”
Mead said Liberty Renewables was in the area “is because of the wind that we can make energy with.”
Town Councilman Joshua Torrey asked Mead about the “tens of millions of dollars” in local benefits Liberty was citing on its website: https://www.liberty-renewables.com/projects/hemlock-hollow-wind.
The town, county and school districts would share in a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement if one is issued by the Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency. The IDA bases its PILOTs on $5,000 a megawatt, which at 24 turbines, would mean $475,000 a year for a PILOT.
The towns could also negotiate a host community agreement with Liberty, which could be millions more.
“I don’t think there is anything you can say to sway people” into thinking the wind project is a good thing for them, Torrey said. Nine out of 10 people are against it unless they are cashing in, he added.
Smith said the PILOT “means they pay less in taxes and we all pay the full amount.”
Parker, the town supervisor, said reports of intimidation and trespassing “leaves a bad taste in my mouth.” She said she wanted town residents to know that town officials “are aware of your concerns.” It is apparent “residents don’t want it,” she added.
Mead said, “It’s our goal to be able to work with you.”
One man replied: “You are trying to get us to look at it positively. You are going ahead anyway.”
Abraham said the town board really doesn’t have any control over the wind farm issue despite a local law governing them — thanks to state laws that have usurped local control in order to meet alternative energy goals.
Liberty Renewables reports, motions and correspondence with the state Department of Public Service can be found here:
https://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterSeq=85387
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All Rights Reserved. Star News LLC. Eric M. Firkel.
