The New York
State Siting Board
approved the
$454 million
Alle-Catt
wind farm
project, which
will generate
up to 340
megawatts
of electricity
at maximum
capacity ( which
will never happen ).
From a planned
116 turbines,
spread over
30,000 acres
of private lands,
located near the
intersection of
the Allegany,
Cattaraugus, and
Wyoming counties
in southwestern
New York State.
The owner
and developer
of the project
is the Invenergy,
energy company
based in Chicago.
“Our decision today
to approve the largest
wind farm to date
will help reduce
our dependence
on fossil fuels,”
said John Rhodes,
chair of the N.Y.
Siting Board.
He also chairs
the state’s
Public Service
Commission.
The Alle-Catt
wind farm
was the largest
ever approved
in New York state,
which had set
a goal of reducing
CO2 emissions
by 85% below
1990 levels,
by 2050.
Reaching that
difficult goal
will require
a radical shift
in daily life
for most
New York
residents.
Voters in Freedom
and Farmersville,
two towns near the
Alle-Catt project,
have elected town
board members
who ran on an
anti-wind turbine
platform.
Not only are
wind farms
ugly bird killers,
but the project
is expected
to power homes
that are mainly
located outside
if the three
counties nearest
to the wind farm.
The Alle-Catt project
is now a battle of
rural vs urban,
farmers vs. Wall Street,
and less regulation
vs. more regulation.
Alle-Catt had been
under consideration
since 2017.
In April 2020,
New York state
passed a new
renewable energy bill,
designed to override
local concerns,
and get renewable
energy projects
started.
That seems in line
with President Trump's
recent executive order
instructing all federal
agencies to speed
environmental approvals
to help the COVID-19
recession recovery.