WIND TURBINES
Wind-power plans are in the doldrums
Green power, green jobs, even a green economy — anything with a hue of mother nature was getting a lot of play nationally and locally during much of 2008.
But now that there’s seemingly a lot less of that other green stuff to throw around, what does 2009 hold for wind power?
Ask those in the field, and they’ll say it depends on how far down the long and windy road businesses and communities want to look.
“The industry is in a strong position right now, but a lot of that talk about green jobs and incentives may have fallen on the editing room floor,” said Mike Licata, vice president of alternative energy at Frey Electric, which does turbine-to- generator windmill installations. “We see a number of projects being planned . . . but many questions remain as to whether they will materialize in 2009.”
The biggest question, at least for local and contractual players, is capital. Wind turbines are capital-heavy projects that require the kind of significant up-front investment not easily found on the global credit markets these days.
In November, wind power projects in Farmersville and other communities in Cattaraugus and Allegany counties seemed to be shelved, at least for the time being. An executive with Noble Environmental Power said the work would continue, but would take a long time to mature.
A 36-turbine project in Prattsburgh, Steuben County, was postponed, and a second phase of Lackawanna’s highly visible Steel Windows project was put off for at least a year by developer First Wind in December, after the credit market tightened up even further.
The bright spots may be in more projects on a smaller scale.
“Small wind” systems — those producing 100 kilowatts or less — on homes and businesses with traditional power hook-ups tripled across the country in 2007, to 1,292 units, according to the American Wind Energy Association, with thousands more hooked up in stretches of the country that lack utilities. If government grant programs are maintained into 2009, more rural landowners may look at canceling out their electrical bills.
And some smaller towns have a hard time resisting the revenue-boosting host agreements that wind projects carry with them, even if zoning, environmental, and long-term communication makes most turbine installations a multiyear affair.
In Arkwright, near Fredonia, for example, Horizon approached the town in 2004 to start talking about laws and governance, signed agreements in 2007, and hopes to start construction this year — although wetland discovery and snow delays have brought delays to the 44-turbine project.
Still, Tom Stebbins, project manager for Chautauqua County with Horizon, sees promise in the winds in his neck of New York, despite the looming economic clouds. He points to a Siena College poll released in June, which found 83 percent of state residents wanting their elected officials to encourage more investment in wind power.
“I’m excited about the outlook in this industry, for our company, and for the country,” Stebbins said. “Wherever there’s good wind, good laws, and good people who are enthusiastic about wind projects, a developer is soon to come around.”
New York had set a goal of producing 25 percent of its power needs with alternative energy sources by 2013, and Barack Obama’s administration has made entreaties toward putting federal dollars toward greener power, promising to spend $150 billion over the next 10 years on developing green technology.
Some of that earmark and enthusiasm, Licata at Frey Electric said, is bound to find a home in Western New York.
“This area is home to one of the largest renewable energy sources in the country, Niagara Falls,” he said. “As a region, we have reopened a critical silica production facility . . . produce electricity from landfill gases, grow produce with excess heat, and are a significant wind corridor. . . . We are now, and will continue to be, an important region for the country relative to alternative energy.”
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