A group of Cohocton residents opposed to the $230-million wind turbine project, say they will appeal to a higher court. A Steuben County supreme court judge dismissed three of their lawsuits last week.

Tom Carey says he likes the wind turbines.

"We had been all over the world looking for some place to live and we left our heart here in the Finger Lakes and this is where we came back to. We absolutely loved it here...until...we knew about the wind project," Judi Hall said.

The back and forth over First Wind's bid to build wind turbines ended with the company's success. Champions of the project like Tom Casey, who sits on the town/village planning board, say the project puts Cohocton on the cutting edge of new energy and helps the economy.

"Many of our farmers up on the hills who have been here generation after generation...are receiving money by leasing their land," Casey said. "This is allowing many of them to stay in farming."

Those outside of farming have benefitted too. Bill Wiedman is Cohoction born and raised.
"It's bringing more money into the economy and giving us jobs...us local people and other people," he said.

Unlike many communities, Cohocton is experiencing an economic upswing: it's now debt-free and residents are experiencing a 30% decrease in their taxes...and they expect another 30% decrease next year.

Hall said that's just for town taxes, so it's not as much as it seems at first, and that it's definitely not enough to make the noise worth it.

"One of those started making the same kind of noise that this one is making all weekend," Hall said. That noise is too much for her.

Hall worries if she's forced to move from her dream home, no one will buy it with the new noisy wind turbines as neighbors.

The turbines will be fully operational by the end of November.