Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Quarterly Report
FALL 2008
We also recognize that a quarterly newsletter can only go so far. You may by Jim Madden, Project Developer have questions or concerns at any time In an effort to keep everyone informed and, while I am available by phone (866about the project, this is the first quar359-8807), sometimes that is not enough. terly project update we plan to send to all So, we decided to open a project office in the Cape Vincent landowners in our proj- Cape Vincent. On October 7, we opened ect. Why now? First, we are transitionour office on Broadway near the post ing from early stage activities like land office, which will be staffed part time leasing and environmental studies to late through the winter to answer questions stage activities like permitting and engiand provide information on our project neering studies. Our plans are becoming and general wind energy topics. The more concrete with turbine and road address is 114 S. Esseltyne St., Suite 1, locations being finalized shortly and the and we will be open Tuesdays 1-5 pm completion of the SEQR process in the and Thursdays and Fridays 9 am 5 pm. coming months. During this stage, peoPlease stop by or call us at 654-2181 ple will naturally have more questions, so during these hours. we want to make it easier for everyone to learn about what is currently happening with the project. In the last six months, we have made signicant progress in several areas, including environmental studies, transmission and site planning. We are on track to complete the SEQR process in the spring, so that construction can begin in late 2009 or spring 2010.
Introduction:
Project Updates
and to release our initial site plans, including locations for turbines, roads, collection system, transmission lines, project substation and operations and maintenance facilities. These plans are expected to change in the coming months as the Town of Cape Vincent completes work on a wind ordinance that will establish setbacks and other requirements for wind projects in the town. For example, the committee working on the ordinance is currently proposing to prohibit placement of any turbines west of Rt 6 (Pleasant Valley Road) in the Agricultural District. This would force us to remove 5 turbines from our project. We urge all landowners that support our project to speak up in support of our project at the public hearing on this ordinance, which will likely be in November or December. Throughout the summer, we had teams of people in the eld working on several environmental studies. These included delineation of wetlands, evaluation of rock formations and continuing bird and bat studies throughout the site. Several nal studies had to be put on hold until the town passes a wind ordinance and we nalize the array plan, but we expect
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The second reason for these updates is that the level of activity on the site will increase dramatically as we get closer to construction. While we have notified you in writing or by phone in the past regarding the need to access your land for environmental studies, the numerous engineering and pre-construction studies ahead of us will require much closer coordination with all our landowners. We plan to use this newsletter as a way to communicate the details of these studies to you going forward.
In May, we selected the GE sle 1.5 megawatt turbine for use in this project. The GE turbines are the workhorse of the industry and are highly reliable, with over 5,000 units in operation worldwide. Furthermore, GE Wind has their global headquarters in Schenectady, which has added several hundred new jobs in the last year alone due to the growth of their wind business. BP has placed orders with GE for several hundred turbines in each of the next several years, which also helps to support good jobs here in New York. In July, we held a landowner dinner and a public open house to answer questions
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Winter 2010
BP Cape Vincent Office Phone: 315-654-2181 114 S. Esseltyne St Cape Vincent, NY 13618 Office Hours Monday: closed Tuesday: 1-5 Wednesday: Closed Thursday: 9-5 Friday: 9-5
Final bird and wildlife studies Wetland delineations Archeological survey Geotechnical study Transportation study Visual simulations Historical structure study Sound studies
The 20 Year Financial Impact was calculated as follows: $28,347,147 for PILOT revenues to the town, schools, and county. $31,473,433 for local wages and contracts during construction and operations. $26,185,186 for landowner payments from leases, rights of way, and good neighbor agreements.
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Tim Conboy
INFO@STLAWRENCEWIND.COM
315-654-2210
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MARCH 1, 2011
Dear Participating Landowner: We are pleased to report that Supreme Court Justice Hugh A. Gilbert has issued a decision denying and dismissing the lawsuit filed by Wind Power Ethics Group (WPEG) against the Town of Cape Vincent Planning Board and St. Lawrence Windpower. In the suit, WPEG asserted, among other complaints, that the Planning Board and St. Lawrence Windpower had failed to adequately address the projects noise and property value impacts. In the decision, signed January 26, 2011, the court found that the Planning Board complied with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) in all respects and that there was no conflict of interest among the Planning Board members who approved the projects Final Environmental Impact Statement and SEQRA Findings. On February 3rd, representatives of St. Lawrence Windpower met with members of the Town of Lyme Economic Committee. The discussion centered on the location of project facilities proposed in the Town of Lyme, their estimated value and estimated PILOT payments to the Lyme Central School District and Town of Lyme. It is clear that wind energy projects deliver significant economic benefits to host communities. Unfortunately, a moratorium on wind energy development has been in place in the Town of Lyme since April 2007. Until such time that the Lyme moratorium (which could run through October 2011) is lifted and a special permit application can be submitted, there will be a delay in the opportunity for the towns of Lyme and Cape Vincent to benefit from St. Lawrence Wind Farms PILOT payments, job creation and lease payments to participating landowners. We are currently working on an application to the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency (JCIDA) for a Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOT) agreement for the project. The PILOT has long been a topic of conversation and questions from community members. To help address some of these questions, we created the enclosed Understanding PILOT Payments and the Economic Impact of Wind Farms handout. We hope the handout is a valuable reference in the months ahead as our PILOT application is processed by the JCIDA and considered by the host tax jurisdictions. Finally, we have enclosed updated contact information for Accionas St. Lawrence Wind Farm development team. Tina Davis is a new resource available to assist landowners with information changes (payment disbursement, address, marital, death, ownership, etc.), missing documents or payment questions. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions or an issue that requires our attention. Sincerely,
Tim Conboy
INFO@STLAWRENCEWIND.COM
315-654-2210
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Dear St. Lawrence Wind Farm Landowners: As 201 1 winds down, it is a good time to reflect on what has happened this year and to let you know how much we appreciate your support. In January 2011, we installed an 80 meter meteorological tower near Route 12E and Favret Road. A preliminary analysis of the data collected by this tower confirms that the wind resource in the project area is strong. Recent activity has included extending agreements with participating landowners and entering new agreements with other landowners. Much progress has been made and many agreements have been completed within the last few months. Thank you for your cooperation as we complete this important work. Some of the highlights of 2011 involved getting the word out about wind energy's benefits and responding to the myths that are circulated by its opponents. At a March forum hosted by Voters for Wind, officials from New York towns with operating wind projects provided first-hand accounts of their positive experiences with wind energy development. In July, our report "The Economic Impacts of Wind Energy Development and the St. Lawrence Wind Farm" outlined how over $40 million in direct payments will diversify the local economy and lessen school district, town and county dependence on outside sources of funding. At the New York Wind Education Collaborative forum in late August, Professor Mark Thayer explained how a comprehensive peer-reviewed study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found "no evidence that home prices surrounding wind facilities are consistently, measurably and significantly affected by either the view of wind facilities or the distance of the home to those facilities."
We recognize that a challenging political environment exists for wind energy development and its supporters in Cape Vincent and Lyme. However, we are encouraged by the August enactment by New York State of the Article X siting law. The law streamlines the permitting process for large wind energy projects and includes a procedure for overcoming unduly burdensome requirements adopted by municipalities. In 2012, Article X regulations will be implemented by New York State and the project will determine the best approach for completing the permitting process. We would like to express our deep appreciation for your support. Without landowners like you, renewable energy projects, which are important elements of our nation's energy security and economic vitality, cannot succeed. From the St. Lawrence Wind Farm team, we wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Sincerely,
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P.O . BOX 660 122 SOUTH POINT STREET CAPE VINCENT , NY 13618 INFO@STLAWRENCEWIND .COM 315-654 -2210
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July 2, 2011 Dear St. Lawrence Wind Farm Landowners: I am pleased to enclose a recently completed report by Acciona Energy, The Economic Impacts of Wind Energy Development & The St. Lawrence Wind Farm, which details the economic benefits that the St. Lawrence Wind Farm (SLWF) can bring to Cape Vincent, Lyme and Jefferson County. The report includes information from towns in upstate New York that are already experiencing the economic benefits of hosting wind farms. It is being mailed to local boards and municipal officials and we have requested the opportunity to present its findings to the Cape Vincent and Lyme town boards. Other St. Lawrence Wind Farm news: The June 22nd passage of Article X legislation by the New York State Senate and Assembly (and its expected signing by the governor) will establish a centralized permitting process for electric generating facilities. We have not yet determined whether St. Lawrence Wind Farm should continue with the existing process or utilize the new Article X process. Regardless of what process is utilized, Acciona is committed to continuing to work with the local community and public agencies. Progress is continuing on environmental permit applications We have recently entered agreements with new landowners and have extended agreements with participating landowners We were encouraged by the recent Cape Vincent poll indicating that a large percentage of year-round and seasonal residents support wind energy
Thank you for your support of the St. Lawrence Wind Farm and please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments about the report. Sincerely, St. Lawrence Windpower, LLC
all of these to be completed in the coming months. We then plan to submit our SupA Wind Ordinance Committee for Cape plemental Draft EIS in the next 4-6 months. Vincent has been charged with drafting We have also been working on acquiring the Cape Vincent wind law. Members the necessary rights of way for a transmis- include Tom Rienbeck, Tom Ingersol, sion line to the grid interconnection point George Mingle, Mick Orvis, Bob Doud, Mike Bourcy and Beth White. in Chaumont. While there is still some work to be done, we are condent that The committee plans to meet several the selected path will be available for use. times per month in order to accomplish Meanwhile, the St. Lawrence Wind project the goal of finalizing a wind law before has been working on a separate transmis- the end of the year. During the first sion route for their project, which utilizes meeting the committee discussed private the abandoned railroad bed. Nobody wind utilities vs. commercial utilities. The wants two separate transmission lines to committee visited the Maple Ridge Wind Farm the week of 9/15. be built to the same location, so we have started discussions with St. Lawrence Wind The next meeting will be on October on an agreement to share one route for 16th where a noise specialist hired by the both projects. This would greatly reduce Town board will discuss sound associated the visual impact of the transmission lines with wind turbines. and would also reduce the cost for both companies. Town of Cape Vincent Meetings So, we have been making steady progress Town of Cape Vincent Planning Board on several fronts in the past few months, Meeting - 2nd Wednesday of the month though much of it has been behind the Town of Cape Vincent Town Board scenes. Our biggest issue in the next 3 Meeting - 2nd Thursday of the month months is the towns wind ordinance. Town of Lyme Meetings Again, we urge everyone to participate in Town of Lyme Planning Board Meeting the public discussion on these important 3rd Thursday of the month issues, as these decisions can have a big Town of Lyme Town Board Meeting - 2nd impact on you and your neighbors. Wednesday of the month