Apex announces it’s looking at second wind energy project in Orleans

Apex Clean Energy – Apex has identified Barre and its surrounding area for the focus of a wind energy project.

BARRE – Apex Clean Energy announced today the company is looking at a second wind energy project in Orleans County that would be focused in Barre and spread out in surrounding towns, as far northeast as Fancher and south into Elba.

The project would be called Heritage Wind and would represent a private investment by Apex “in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Apex said it’s too early to say how many turbines would be in the project, but it said is looking at a 200 Megawatt project, the same as the proposed Lighthouse Wind in Yates and Somerset.

The company will be actively meeting with landowners, community leaders and the public in the next several months, Apex posted on a website for “Heritage Wind.”

“The Heritage Wind project would provide an opportunity to help address New York’s growing electricity demand with clean, homegrown energy, while diversifying Orleans County’s economy and supporting jobs in the local community,” the company states on the website.

Apex is working on Lighthouse Wind, a project with about 70 turbines in Yates and Somerset in those two towns along Lake Ontario. The project has faced community opposition and is going through the state Article 10 review process.

Apex Clean Energy is based in Charlottesville, Va. It sees several positives with a project in the Barre area, including: verified wind resource, existing high-voltage power lines, expansive private land, and proximity to state highways.

The existing high-voltage power lines and highways would limit the need for new infrastructure, the company said.

Apex said Heritage Wind would create hundreds of jobs and significant local spending during construction, and up to 10 full-time local jobs for operations and maintenance.

The company would pay “millions of dollars” annually over 30 years to county and local landowners.

“Apex has spent the last few years working in Orleans County, and we’ve talked to hundreds of local people who are interested in bringing more wind energy to their county,” said Mark Goodwin, president and COO of Apex Clean Energy in a news release. “Orleans County is blessed with a very strong wind resource, and we look forward to working with the people of Barre to bring the benefits of wind energy to their community as well.”

For more on Heritage Wind, click here.