County takes leadership role in promoting wind power

The second in a series of articles on methods to conserve energy

By TOM KANE

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Sullivan County has placed itself on the cutting edge of New York State counties that are investigating the installation of wind power for economic development and the conservation of energy.

A year ago, the county legislature allocated $20,000 to conduct a wind energy assessment to ascertain if wind power was feasible as a business venture.

“The idea came right out of the Sullivan 2020 process, our county-wide strategic plan, and was identified as an area we should explore for tourism reasons and for other economic development reasons,” said Dr. William Pammer, commissioner of the Sullivan County Department of Planning and Community Development. “Wind power will offer a lot of support to tourism, to eco-tourism and the economy in general.”

“Alternative energy is something that I and the rest of the legislators greatly support,” said Sullivan County Legislator Sam Wohl, chairman of the legislature’s Planning and Community Development Committee. “Why not save money for our farmers, for example, by helping them use a wind tower and lessen their energy bills. We can also sell electricity back to the grid and earn money for the county.”

Sustainable Energy Development, Inc. (SED) of Delanson, NY was selected to conduct the study of the wind resources of the county and to identify possible businesses and institutions that could greatly benefit from wind power.

“SED currently works on distributing wind projects with municipalities, industry, schools, farms and with individual homeowners as well as function as a consultant to utility-scale wind developers,” said Kevin Schulte, vice president.

Schulte is acting as the principal consultant for wind power in the county.

“The study called ‘Wind Energy Market Assessment for Sullivan County’ does a number of things,” said Heather Brown, principal research analyst with the county planning department. “It initially identified the best sites where a wind turbine or turbines could be located.”

Specifically, the study identifies three kinds of wind power that can be used in the county: utility-scale wind development, onsite generation wind energy and small wind power.

“The study identifies six potential utility-scale projects with a maximum capacity of 336 megawatts,” Brown said. “This is a large project that aims to entice commercial wind developers in order to produce positive economic impacts in the county.”

The six sites are: Lily Pond between Livingston Manor and the Neversink Reservoir, Thunder Hill located east of the Neversink Reservoir, a section between Monticello and Forestburgh, Revonah Hill in the Village of Liberty, an area around Livingston Manor and an area around Callicoon and Fremont.

A utility-scale turbine costs about $1.4 million to construct and install.

The study further identifies 12 possible sites for onsite wind development. These sites are: Sullivan County Community College, The Concord, Kutshers. Crystal Run Medical Center, Villa Roma Resort, Bethel Woods Performing Arts Center, Lanza’s Country Inn, Tennanah Lake Country Club, Lily Pond Municipal Water Facility in the Village of Liberty and three large farms—AGY Farm in Harris, NY, the Ackerman Farm in Kenoza Lake and the Hughson Farm on Swill Hill Road in Jeffersonville.

Small wind power development, the third kind, would be aimed for individual homes or work sites.

Farmers can get a 50-percent subsidy on the cost of installing from the New York State Research and Development authority (NYSERDA) and a 25 percent subsidy from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Schools and colleges like Sullivan County Community College can get up to 90 and 95 percent subsidy, Brown said.

A turbine pays for itself in four to five years, Brown said.

A long process

“This doesn’t mean that we’re going to put up wind turbines tomorrow,” Brown said. “There will be a long process of public meeting to investigate what the feelings of the communities are with regard to wind power. It can be a controversial subject, especially if people don’t understand just what wind power is and what is involved in wind turbines.”

Some of the objections already experienced by the industry, she said, are wind turbines can ruin the viewscape of some people, they can kill certain kinds of migratory birds and bats and they make noise if they are not constructed and maintained properly.

“The more people understand what wind power is, the more they will be able to make judgments about it feasibility in areas of the county,” Brown said.

A leader in wind power

Sullivan County already has a leader in the use of wind power and other forms of alternative energy. Much of the activity centers and originates from Dick Riseling and the Apple Pond Farm and Renewable Energy Education Center in Callicoon Center.

Riseling erected a wind tower in April of 2003. His system produces 10,000 kilowatts a year and cost $50,000. “A farm or an individual family can produce up to 18,000 kilowatts a year,” he said.

On his farm, besides a tower, Riseling has erected a solar thermal heating system, a series of photovoltaic cells and has retrofitted a truck to run on bio-diesel fuel, a combination of vegetable oil and diesel.

“We are facing a crisis in energy use in America like never before, on our farms and in other parts of our society,” Riseling said. “Renewable energy is the way our society must go. What we’re doing with energy now is not sustainable. We’re borrowing from the future, over-consuming in the present and taking from the past.”

“We develop all these alternative systems for the benefit of our children and our children’s children,” he said. “Our consumption of natural resources is enormous. Our national economy is false. Our national debt is out of control. Our country is out of control. Individual citizens have to take the initiative in adopting things like these alternative energy sources to help save our nation.”

The need for dialogue

The wind power report will provide Sullivan County with the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions on how or if the pursuit of wind power development is in the county’s best interest. The amount of potential that is fulfilled and the quality of the benefits will depend upon the leadership exercised by the county and the dialogue that must be held between all the potential participants: county officials, business representatives, community leaders and individual citizens.