Chautauqua wind farm tapped for NYS renewable energy funding

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David Bertola

Buffalo Business First Reporter- Buffalo Business First

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A proposed Chautauqua County wind farm is among four clean-energy projects to receive a portion of $206 million in state funding as New York creates a more diverse renewable energy portfolio.

The planned 78 megawatt Arkwright Summit Wind Farm is one of two such sites, plus a Mohawk Valley hydroelectric project and a small hydroelectric upgrade to a Hudson Valley dam that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve New York state's energy infrastructure. The proposed wind farm will be in the northern part of the county, and has been planned since 2008.

Once operational, the four projects will add approximately 164 megawatts of new renewable capacity, and provide about 450,000 megawatt-hours per year of clean renewable energy to New York — enough energy to supply more than 60,000 average-sized homes per year.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the awards on Nov. 12. The funding for these projects is provided in response to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's 9th Main Tier solicitation, a Request for Proposal issued earlier this year, and is being allocated through the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard, a policy that promotes the development of new renewable energy resources in New York State. The solicitation provides greater long term certainty to contractors through contract terms of up to 20 years, double the length of previous contracts.

David Bertola covers small business, energy and marketing