Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Welcome! We hope that you enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribe purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribe purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Thank you for signing in! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Checking back? Since you viewed this item previously you can read it again.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code.
Promotional Rates were found for your code.
Partly cloudy. Low 53F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy. Low 53F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO A series of approvals by state officials is expected to help projects in Byron and several Steuben County towns progress.
DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO A series of approvals by state officials is expected to help projects in Byron and several Steuben County towns progress.
BYRON — Two area green energy projects, including one in Byron, have received important state approvals.
The New York State Public Service Commission approved the compliance filings Thursday for the Excelsior Energy Center in Bryon and the Baron Winds project in the town of Dansville, Steuben County. The approvals were needed before portions of construction and operations could proceed.
“The solar and wind farms being built across our great state are vital to meet the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s aggressive carbon reduction and clean energy targets to combat climate change,” said Commission Chair Rory M. Christian in a news release. “Each of these projects benefit all New Yorkers by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, boosting clean-energy investment, creating clean-energy jobs, and improving our environment.”
The PSC approved more than 10 compliance filings for the Excelsior Energy Center. They cover issues including environmental engineering, site security and route evaluation, along with visual mitigation and landscape screening; underground and overhead service line layout; and wetland restoration.
The Excelsior Energy Center will be a 280-megawatt solar energy generating facility with 20 megawatts of energy storage. The project is expected to provide $37.4 million in new revenue to the Genesee County, the Town of Byron and the surrounding school district.
The project is expected to create 290 jobs during construction, three to four full-time positions afterward, and opportunities for landscaping and snow plowing throughout its lifespan. It will also support the agricultural economy by infusing revenue into area farms and diversifying their incomes.
The total project area is 3,443 acres, but the limit of disturbance for construction and operation is expected to be 1,712 acres.
The PSC also approved compliance filings involving engineering, environmental planning, and cultural resources mitigation for the Baron Winds project.
Baron Winds will be constructed and operated by a subsidiary of the German energy company, innogy. It will include up to 68 wind turbines.
The turbines will be 492 feet tall and will be spread out over acres of privately-owned agricultural and recreational land in the towns of Cohocton, Dansville, Fremont and Wayland — all in Steuben County, close to the Livingston County line.
As part of the project, innogy will also construct 16.5 miles of access roads; 31 miles of underground electricity collection lines; an electrical substation; a point of interconnection with the existing electrical grid; up to four, 328-foot-tall meteorological towers; up to two temporary staging areas for construction; and a 4,000- to 6,000-square-foot operations and maintenance building.
Host towns will also receive payments totaling about $600,000 annually for the next 20 years under the terms of community benefit agreements negotiated with innogy.
The energy company also expects the wind farm to create 117 temporary construction or construction-related jobs.
Thursday’s decisions may be obtained by visiting the “Commission Documents” section at www.dps.ny.gov and entering Case Numbers 15-F-0122 [Baron Winds] or 19-F-0299 [Excelsior Energy] in the input box labeled “Search for Case/Matter Number.”
Commission documents may also be obtained from the Commission’s Files Office, 14th floor, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223 or by calling (518) 474-2500.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.