County planners will review Barre changes for wind turbines on Thursday

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 January 2021 at 8:08 am

ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board on Thursday will review the Town of Barre’s revisions to its local law for wind turbines, including setback distances from property lines and houses, and other factors including the maximum height of the structures.

Apex Clean Energy has proposed Heritage Wind, a project with 33 wind turbines that would be nearly 700 feet high at tip height. Those turbines would have the capacity for 5.6 megawatts, making the project 184.8 megawatts.

The County Planning Board offers an advisory opinion on the referrals from local towns and villages. The 7 p.m. meeting will be online through Zoom. Instructions for joining the meeting should be available later this week on the Planning Board’s website page. Click here for more information.

The Planning Board agenda also includes:

• A request in Barre for site plan approval and special use permit for a diesel/gas powered vehicle repair shop at 4227 Oak Orchard Rd. in the Business District.

• A request in Shelby for an amendment to the zoning text to clarify certain requirements for solar energy systems.

• A request in Gaines for a moratorium to prohibit all battery and energy storage systems for six months.

• A request in Lyndonville to review the site plan for a small ground-mounted 340.8 KW solar energy system at 15 Lynwood Dr. in the Agricultural Residential District.

• In Yates a request to adopt a new zoning ordinance for solar energy.