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Despite 5-year debate over eagle safety, Windsor, Sanford wind farm moves forward
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin| Emily Barnes |Oct 12, 2022
Challengers of the project claim the wind turbines, which could stand up to 670 feet tall, will kill bald and golden eagles that fly into their path. Results of a survey completed by the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society (DOAS) revealed over 500 eagles pass through the project area, one of the highest concentrations of eagles found in New York, DOAS co-president Andrew Mason said. "It's clear that that was a major area both for golden eagle migration and for wintering golden eagles," Mason said. "Our feeling was it was just a very bad place to put a wind project under any circumstances."
Challengers of the project claim the wind turbines, which could stand up to 670 feet tall, will kill bald and golden eagles that fly into their path. Results of a survey completed by the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society (DOAS) revealed over 500 eagles pass through the project area, one of the highest concentrations of eagles found in New York, DOAS co-president Andrew Mason said. "It's clear that that was a major area both for golden eagle migration and for wintering golden eagles," Mason said. "Our feeling was it was just a very bad place to put a wind project under any circumstances."
Construction of 27 wind turbines in the towns of Windsor and Sanford is underway despite years of pushback from residents.
A third of the turbines are complete, including the four in Windsor, Town of Sanford supervisor Kenny Wist said, and all should be finished by the end of November.
The project, titled Bluestone Wind, received the green light from the New York Siting Board in 2019 amid residents' concerns about the potential impact on bald and golden eagle migration and land values in the area.
How project aims to combat eagle deaths
Challengers of the project claim the wind turbines, which could stand up to 670 feet tall, will kill bald and golden eagles that fly into their path.
Results of a survey completed by the …
... more
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Construction of 27 wind turbines in the towns of Windsor and Sanford is underway despite years of pushback from residents.
A third of the turbines are complete, including the four in Windsor, Town of Sanford supervisor Kenny Wist said, and all should be finished by the end of November.
The project, titled Bluestone Wind, received the green light from the New York Siting Board in 2019 amid residents' concerns about the potential impact on bald and golden eagle migration and land values in the area.
How project aims to combat eagle deaths
Challengers of the project claim the wind turbines, which could stand up to 670 feet tall, will kill bald and golden eagles that fly into their path.
Results of a survey completed by the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society (DOAS) revealed over 500 eagles pass through the project area, one of the highest concentrations of eagles found in New York, DOAS co-president Andrew Mason said.
"It's clear that that was a major area both for golden eagle migration and for wintering golden eagles," Mason said. "Our feeling was it was just a very bad place to put a wind project under any circumstances."
A map of the proposed wind farm area in Windsor in Sanford.
Mason says the company's plan to mitigate eagle deaths in the area is to place people at three of the turbine sites during migration periods.
"If they see an eagle approaching the turbines," Mason says, "they can then get the turbine blades shut down."
The company also plans to distribute non-lead hunting ammunition to reduce the number of lead poisoning deaths resulting from eagles feeding on injured deer.
How wind farm will affect land values
Advocates against the project also claim the turbines will negatively impact land values.
Wist says with many trucks coming in and out of the area during the construction process, properties are less desirable. But the long-term impact on property values, he said, is unknown at this point.
"We've had some residents that have up and sold to get out of the area," Wist said. "But we've also had some people move into these homes knowing that the project was coming in."
Toward the end of 2020, the project's developer, Northland Power, sought a 30-year $21 million tax break for the project from the Broome County IDA that was ultimately rejected.
However, Wist said, a compromise between the two entities has since been made, resulting in a 20-year pilot agreement. The Town of Sanford will be receiving its first payment at the end of January 2023.
"I think it's important to shine some of the positives of the project at the same time," Wist said. "There's a tremendous amount of local labor going into this project, which is good for the local economy. It's not all negative."