Thursday, August 05, 2010

Wind turbines make their way to Herkimer County

A caravan of wind turbines was making its way through the streets of Utica on Wednesday afternoon.

Three trucks were carrying the, on average, 160 foot long turbines, to Herkimer County.

The delivery was still on its way to the Town of Fairfield Wednesday evening, where the site of the new and controversial wind farm is being constructed.

37 turbines are being put up, and a lot of construction activity has already begun on Hardscrabble Road. The project managers estimate that the 37 windmills will be built by December.

There has been discussions with the developer, Iberdrola Renewables since about 2006, said Town of Fairfield Supervisor Richard Souza. Now that the deal is finalized, turbines will soon be in motion generating power and revenue for the Town of Fairfield.

"With the money condition we are in, we need it. If not for this, the taxes next year would almost double," Souza said.

According to the supervisor, the town will see $170,000 per year for 20 years, from the deal.

"What we will start doing this year in our budget is earmarking that money for certain expenditures," Souza said. "So what were doing in the long-run is saving and also not raising taxes."

Despite all the positives Souza says the windmills will bring into the town financially, there are still some who oppose putting windmills in Fairfield.

Carol Riesel says she still hates the thought of windmills in her backyard and her neighbors do to so much so that they are trying to sell their homes before the project is complete.

"Everybody is against it (on her road). I think one of the primary concerns is there was a never a vote. No one ever asked us how we felt about it," Riesel said.

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