A primary factor for new wind project siting is a strong wind resource. Public historic wind resource data provides developers with an initial impression of a given area’s average annual atmospheric conditions, which is followed by several years of targeted analysis. This analysis utilizes remote sensing devices, such as the deployment of a meteorological mast collocated with either a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) device or a Sonic Detection and Ranging (SODAR) device. These devices measure wind speed, wind direction, and other atmospheric conditions that help inform project generational capacity.
Additional siting considerations include proximity of existing transmission infrastructure with interconnection capacity for new power generation, availability of compatible lands with low expected impacts to environmental and agricultural resources, and local interest from private landowners and municipalities.
Renewable energy projects of 25 megawatts or larger are required to obtain a siting permit from the New York State (NYS) Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission (ORES). ORES regulations, which fall under Article VIII of the NYS Public Service Law entitled “Siting of Renewable Energy and Electric Transmission” (Article VIII), establish uniform procedural requirements to help meet the state’s renewable energy objectives while considering all relevant social, economic, and environmental factors and providing an opportunity for local government and community participation. For more information, please visit: https://dps.ny.gov/about-ores.
Liberty Renewables regularly provides updates on project development efforts with town government officials, project participants, and project neighbors, and reflects these updates on the project website pages.
Liberty Renewables also offers a toll-free phone number for interested residents to call for information, as well as a contact form on the website for questions and concerns. Please refer to the “Contact” page on the website to get in touch.
Typical direct project beneficiaries include (but are not limited to) participating landowners, local schools and fire districts, the towns and county in which the project is sited, and project neighbors. Wind projects support participating landowners and invest in the local community in several ways, including through lease and easement agreements, Host Community Benefit Agreements (HCA), Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) Agreements, and Shared Community Payment Programs. Liberty Renewables works closely with local officials to structure agreements that financially empower the project’s community.
Project-specific community investment details are always included as part of the socioeconomic impact assessment in each project’s NYS Article VIII application.
When energy enters the electric grid, it is distributed based on real-time demand. The electric grid operates dynamically, directing energy to areas with the highest consumption needs at any given time and ensuring that power is efficiently routed to meet the largest demand. Towns, businesses, or industrial facilities in the project’s area with ongoing electricity consumption will be the first place the energy will flow. Any excess energy will then flow to regional demand centers, and if excess energy remains after both local and regional demand has been met, the remaining energy produced by a renewable energy project will flow through the broader interconnected electric grid to meet nearest demand until it has been fully utilized.
A 100-megawatt wind project, which is roughly the capacity anticipated for Liberty’s Agricola and Hoffman Falls Wind Projects, has the potential to generate enough clean, renewable electricity to power more than 17,500 households annually. This calculation is estimated according to the EPA’s AVERT Web Edition, which evaluates how renewable energy projects can change the emissions of common air pollutants at county, state, or regional levels.
NYS Article VIII requires developers to conduct rigorous environmental surveys prior to submitting a project application. These studies include wetland and stream delineations, cultural resource surveys, visual impact studies, and numerous avian surveys (each project is unique and will typically require different avian surveys depending on the land cover present within the proposed project site). These surveys require hundreds to thousands of hours spent on the ground and are always performed by a third-party expert consultant.
Wind turbines are highly compatible with agricultural lands. Turbines themselves do not use much land, with an average of less than one acre of land required per turbine, allowing continued crop farming and livestock grazing up to the turbines’ foundations. For this reason, there is potential for landowners to earn more money annually per acre when hosting wind turbines on their land than through traditional agricultural practices alone.
When siting project infrastructure, Liberty Renewables consults with participating landowners to limit disturbances to existing agricultural production to the maximum extent practicable. While land is impacted during construction, Liberty Renewables follows strict restoration practices, per the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM) guidelines, available here.
Project construction typically spans 12–18 months. Under NYS Article VIII, Liberty Renewables is required to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of anticipated traffic and transportation impacts to help determine an ideal route for turbine component delivery and other road uses necessary during construction. This evaluation includes outlining practicable mitigation measures regarding traffic and transportation impacts, such as time restrictions, the use of alternative technologies, the construction of physical roadway improvements, the installation of new traffic control devices, and the repair of local roads or other features.
Liberty Renewables will work with host counties and towns to develop a Road Use Agreement, which outlines a commitment to necessary repair of local roads that may be damaged by heavy equipment, construction, or maintenance activities. Liberty Renewables also consults with local emergency service representatives to minimize potential impacts to emergency service routes throughout the construction process, as well as with local school districts to avoid disruption of school bus services.
Typical wind projects employ operations and maintenance (O&M) managers and wind turbine technicians who oversee day-to-day operations and maintenance activities and ensure the safe and smooth operation of the facility. Projects also contract local labor for ongoing services such as road repair, snow removal, and vegetation management.
As the wind energy industry has grown, several large-scale studies have demonstrated that the planning, construction, and operation of utility-scale wind projects have no long-term negative impacts on property values.
One of the most recent studies on this subject was published in 2023 in the journal on Energy Policy by researchers affiliated with the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, University of Connecticut, and American University. This study examined approximately 500,000 homes across 428 wind projects in 24 states–including New York–between 2005 and 2020 and included data from both the pre-construction and operations phases of the projects.
The study found no evidence of negative long-term impacts from wind turbines to residential homes in rural communities (counties with populations under 250,000), which host about 94 percent of all installed wind capacity. Specifically, the study demonstrated that while homes located within one mile of wind projects initially experienced a slight decline in their property values following a project’s announcement, their property values recovered fully post-construction. Property values for homes located further than two miles from a wind project were wholly unaffected.
American Clean Power Association published a fact sheet on property values and land-based wind turbines, available here.
NYS Article VIII regulations and turbine manufacturers outline strict setback requirements based on the tallest wind turbine model under consideration for a given project. Setback distances are determined by measuring a straight line from the midpoint of a wind turbine tower to the nearest point on a building foundation, property line, or other landmark. Compliance with setback requirements is reflected in each project’s proposed facility site design in the project application.
Shadow flicker refers to the intermittent change in the intensity of light in a given area resulting from the operation of a wind turbine due to its interaction with the sun. Wind turbine blades can cast shadows that move across the ground and nearby structures, creating a “flicker” effect. Shadow flicker is limited by several factors, including the season and time of day, wind direction and speed, cloud cover, distance between the turbine and impacted structures, and site topography. As such, shadow flicker does not occur on cloudy days, becomes weaker with distance, and is most common during sunrise and sunset.
NYS Article VIII contains regulations regarding the maximum number of hours a non-participating residence can experience shadow flicker. Computer models can predict when, where, and to what degree shadow flicker will occur, which helps developers mitigate the impact of shadow flicker on nearby residences when siting wind turbines.
Operating wind turbines can create mechanical noise coming from the gear box or a “whooshing” sound caused by turbine blades passing through the air. As with shadow flicker, NYS Article VIII contains regulations regarding the maximum sound levels that non-participating residences can experience. On average, land-based, utility-scale wind turbines produce sound levels that fall in the range of 35-45 decibels when heard from 1,000 feet away. At this distance, turbines are typically no louder than a residential refrigerator (~50 decibels).
Liberty Renewables takes the necessary precautions to ensure that there are no changes to local water wells due to the construction of wind turbines, as described in NYS Article VIII regulations through setback requirements. Liberty Renewables uses a third party to conduct well water testing throughout project facilities to mitigate impacts to nearby water wells following construction.
Researchers have identified that wind energy has one of the lowest impacts on wildlife and their habitats of any utility-scale method for generating electricity.
To date, there have been no significant population impacts documented for any one species due to wind energy development. Compared to other anthropogenic sources, such as windows and buildings, highways and vehicles, legal and illegal hunting, and above-ground electric transmission line structures, wind projects represent a small contribution to overall avian impacts. As stated on the Audubon Society website, “Audubon strongly supports wind energy that is sited and operated properly to avoid, minimize, and mitigate effectively for the impacts on birds, other wildlife, and the places they need now and in the future. To that end, we support the development of wind energy to achieve 100% clean electricity.”
To ensure that wind projects are responsibly sited, Liberty Renewables conducts environmental impact studies for every project, which are planned and carried out in coordination with federal and state wildlife agencies to ensure that projects are sited in areas where impacts to wildlife species are minimized and appropriately mitigated. These studies are done during the breeding, migrating, and wintering seasons, over multiple years, to certify accurate and representative data for a given project area. Data collected from these surveys is then used to inform decisions throughout project planning. Corresponding reports for each individual study are submitted with each project’s NYS Article VIII application, and include information on local birds, bats, and other wildlife species that were documented in the facility area. Based on the findings, Liberty Renewables coordinates with federal and state wildlife agencies to identify mitigation strategies as necessary.
American Clean Power Association published a fact sheet on wildlife and wind power, available here.
If icy conditions are present, project personnel will follow standard snowstorm/icing/snow accumulation response procedures as outlined within the Safety Response Plan required under NYS Article VIII regulations to minimize the risk of ice throw occurring. Ice throw is the term used to describe the shedding of ice from wind turbine blades when a turbine is exposed to freezing rain, fog, or other conditions that produce ice build-up. During and after the accumulation of ice, an increase in temperature, wind conditions, weight can cause ice build-up to detach and drop from wind turbine blades.
There are various ways to minimize the potential of ice throw occurring. Turbine suppliers offer cold climate solutions that lower the risk of ice buildup on turbine components, which in some cases helps to avoid ice throw completely. Examples of these solutions include sensing technology, which can kick on a braking mechanism to stop the turbine from spinning in the event of ice buildup on a blade, or the implementation of a heating element, which can be used to melt ice from crucial parts of the turbine when build-up is detected.
Over time, natural forces can cause slight erosion of the leading edge of wind turbine blades. The largest modern turbines may produce up to 150 grams (a little over half a cup) of annual erosion which is chemically inert and does not release harmful substances into the environment. Turbine manufacturers have designed blades to maximize surface strength and minimize erosion.
Following NYS Article VIII regulations, Liberty Renewables creates detailed Site Security and Safety Response Plans for each project in collaboration with local emergency services and fire department officials. Taking a collaborative approach to these plans ensures that local officials and participating landowners feel confidently prepared should an issue ever arise within a wind facility. Training is also given to local emergency responders ahead of construction, as well as annually throughout project operations.
Wind projects typically have an estimated lifespan of 25-35 years, depending on various operations and maintenance considerations. Before a wind project is approved, a Decommissioning and Site Restoration Plan must be established under Article VIII, which undergoes rigorous NYS and local review. The Plan addresses safety and the removal of hazardous conditions, environmental impacts, aesthetics, recycling, potential future site uses, funding, and scheduling, among others. A decommissioning bond paid for by Liberty Renewables will be established prior to project construction, posted in escrow, and shared by the towns within the project site. Towns are not responsible for decommissioning costs, as outlined in NYS Article VIII.
Up to approximately 94 percent of wind turbine components are recyclable since they are largely comprised of steel. Historically, wind turbine blades and other composite materials have been disposed of in landfills due to limited recycling options. However, recent advances in technology are enabling the recovery of more materials from blades, including glass fibers and resins, which can be repurposed for other industrial applications. These innovations will continue to reduce landfill use and conserve resources, ensuring that wind energy remains an environmentally responsible solution from operation through decommissioning. Efforts to increase wind turbine recycling capacity are being planned within New York State, including a proposed material recovery and blade recycling facility in Bath, New York, led by Momentum of Western New York. For more information about turbine decommissioning and blade recycling, please reference the resources below:
Wind Turbine Disposal and Recycling Strategies, American Clean Power Association
Decommissioned Wind Turbine Blade Management Strategies, American Clean Power Association