Apex to submit application to state for 33 turbines in Barre
This map from Apex Clean Energy shows proposed locations for wind turbines, access roads, substations and met towers in Barre.
BARRE – Apex Clean Energy said it will be submitting an application to the state to build 33 wind turbines with a capacity to generate up to 184.8 megawatts.
The company announced a notice of submission of application today, saying it expects to file its application on or about Jan. 31 to authorize construction and operation of Heritage Wind, the project in Barre.
Apex will seek approval for the project from the New York State Board on Electric Generating Siting and the Environment. The state will review the project through the Article 10 process, where local laws are considered but the state has the final say in whether the project moves forward or not.
Heritage Wind will include wind turbines, access roads, electrical collection lines, substations, permanent meteorological towers, an operations and maintenance building, and staging/laydown areas to be used during construction, which may include a potential temporary concrete batch plant, Apex said.
A point of interconnection substation will be placed in Barre, along the existing National Grid Lockport-Mortimer 115 kV power line, to deliver electricity generated by the facility to the New York State electric grid, Apex states in the Notice of Submission Application.
The application will include:
• an analysis of the environmental setting of the facility (33 turbines), a description of the facility, including preliminary design drawings and related information; copies of reports, studies and plans submitted in support of the application
• an assessment of impacts of construction and operation of the facility relating to land use; consistency with state energy planning objectives, including climate change and renewable energy goals; public health and safety;
• terrestrial ecology, water resources and aquatic ecology, including avian and bat species and wetlands; communications, transportation and utilities; cultural, historical and recreational resources; visual, including shadow flicker; sound; electric magnetic fields; and impacts on the statewide electrical system.
If the state Siting Board deems the application to be complete, the Siting Board will schedule a public statement hearing on the application, to be held in the Barre area.
The Siting Board will also issue a notice of availability of $184,800 in intervenor funds to municipalities and other local parties to help pay expenses, including attorneys and consultants, associated with participating in the Article 10 process during the application review phase. By law, at least 50 percent of these intervenor funds are reserved for municipalities.
(During the Preliminary Scoping Statement, Apex needed to provide $350 per megawatt or $70,000 in intervenor funds for the local community to hire experts to review the Apex proposal, back when it was projected as a 200-megawatt project. A judge determined in 2018 the Town of Barre would be allocated $40,000 in those funds and Clear Skies Above Barre would get $30,000.)
Click here to be directed to the NYS Department of Public Service website that details information and submission about Heritage Wind.
Local officials have been meeting to discuss a PILOT arrangement with Apex, where $1.2 million to $1.8 million in annual revenue is expected to shared the next 25 years among the Town of Barre, Orleans County and Albion Central School. (Oakfield-Alabama also would get some funding because one turbine is proposed to be in the O-A school district.)
