ALBANY, N.Y. — New York State has issued a final siting permit for Albany–based Liberty Renewables, Inc. to develop, operate, and decommission Hoffman Falls Wind, LLC, a 100-megawatt (MW) renewable-energy facility in the towns of Fenner, Nelson, Eaton, and Smithfield in Madison County.
The Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission (ORES) issued the final siting permit, the New York State Department of Public Service (DPS) announced Monday.
The facility will include up to 24 wind turbines, as well as an associated underground medium voltage collection system, a permanent meteorological (MET) tower, an aircraft detection lighting system (ADLS), a medium voltage-to-transmission voltage collection substation, a short 115- kilovolt (kV) gen-tie line that will connect the facility to the New York power grid via a point of interconnection (POI) switching station, according to the announcement. That will connect to the existing Fenner-Cortland 115-kV transmission line, owned and operated by National Grid.
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The DPS contends that the project will create jobs, invest in “crucial” infrastructure, and increase tax revenues for local schools and other community priorities through tax and host community agreements.
“This important project approval demonstrates we continue to strengthen our commitment to improve grid reliability and build clean energy,” Rory Christian, CEO of the DPS, said in the announcement. “This project joins the more than 30 projects that New York has approved over the last few years. This is a testament to New York’s commitment to sustainability, affordability, and resiliency.”
The Madison County facility will contribute 100 MW of clean, renewable energy to New York’s electric grid while offsetting nearly 130,000 metric tons of CO2 and providing power for about 17,000 average-sized homes. It’s expected the project will be operational in 2027, per the announcement.
Hoffman Falls Wind is expected to create about 66 full-time construction jobs and up to three permanent operations and maintenance jobs, in addition to contracting local labor for ongoing services such as road repair, snow removal, and vegetation management.
DPS cites the developers as indicating the facility is expected to provide $63 million in local investment to the Towns of Fenner, Nelson, Smithfield, and Eaton, Madison County, the Cazenovia and Morrisville-Eaton Central School Districts, and participating landowners. Additionally, the towns are expected to share about $400,000 annually through the development of a host community agreement, with additional annual payments of $100,000 through a shared community payment program, which will be paid out to neighbors of the facility.
The facility was approved after a review process that included public comment periods and hearings. ORES received more than 135 public comments regarding the project and held a well-attended public comment hearing in April, the DPS said.
CNYBJ has reached out to the Madison County government for comment on this story and will add that in a story update should we receive it.
