The wind turbines of the Fenner Wind Farm have been a fixture of the Madison County landscape for more than two decades. The renewable energy project has been ground-breaking and educational. But further energy development there is finding a less-enthusiastic greeting.
The wind turbines that spread out over hills and farmlands around Fenner were pioneering when built in 2001, the first major wind project east of the Mississippi.
“It wasn’t uncommon to have tour buses come through of folks being approached to develop wind energy projects in their community and they just wanted to get the (personal) ‘how does it feel, how does it look, how does it fit into the community, what are some concerns?’,” said Enel Group General Manager Dave Harman.
He explained the 1.5-megawatt turbines were state of the art at the time. They have since been upgraded, so the farm now produces electricity to power the equivalent of about 10-thousand homes.
(Learn more about the Fenner Wind Farm, Enel Energy and the Town of Fenner on our Deeper Shade of Green podcast)
As much as the installation advanced renewable power, it also helped educate about it.
“We’ve put a significant amount of time educating the students that come through, local schools’ 5th grade classes, senor classes. They come through and over the years you start seeing those faces come back.”
And they come back, to Harmon’s satisfaction, as college students studying all aspects of renewable energy development. Much of that was made possible by The Fenner Renewable Energy Education, or FREE center.
"People don’t really know about renewable energy. So, let’s educate the; let’s tell them what this is all about,” said FREE Center President Phil Rose, who described the cooperation between the Town of Fenner and Enel in developing the center, which has a home building in the midst of the wind turbines. “Get them here and actually hav then stand in front of these turbines and look a them and see. People say, ‘oh, they make too much noise.’ Well people come see, does this make too much noise? … And they get to see for themselves what this is all about.”
They also address concerns about bird migration interruptions and killings, which they all downplay, saying migrating birds have figured out hazards for years.
Success and Controversy
So, by most measures – clean energy, spreading information, and town cooperation – the wind farm has been a success. State records show the town receives $150,000 a year , while landowners where the turbines sit – mostly on private property – get lease payments of $5,000.00 to $10,000.00-a-year or more.
Two new projects slated for the area, however, are drawing criticism for the way the state pushed them through. “We all want to have a say in what goes on around our homes,” said FREE center founder Judy Carey. “So when we don’t have a say, people don’t feel like they’re bing heard. And when it’s happening in your own neighborhood, and in your won backyard, and in your own view, there’s going to be a certain amount of animosity.”
A Liberty Renewables project, Hoffman Falls Wind, with 24 large turbines and the Oxbow Hill 140-megawatt Solar Project have already won siting approval. And that’s stirred opposition, not about renewable energy, but a basic governing principle, “the loss of home rule. Any time we lose control, it’s hard to accept,” said Carey. “I mean there were public hearings and they did come talk to the town. But it was really just informational.”
“The problem is … about the whole process of meeting with people and working with the local representatives and working on siting and all that has disappeared,” added Rose. “The state has taken authority and said they will support whatever the renewable energy company wants to do, and they just, they will not negotiate with the town.”
Carey and Rose agree residents thought these new projects could have been sited elsewhere, given the amount of rural land in New York.
Haarman however emphasized the need to expand power generation, without weighing in on the controversies over siting locations. “ In New York State, we have a problem in the sense that our generating capacity is declining and we're having to import more and more electricity from outside of New York State borders.”
He added that comes at a time when demand for power, with more electric applications and the rise in data centers, is spiking. “ Renewable energy provides an opportunity to provide great jobs for the people for, for youth and skilled workforce (can) stay in the area.”
Fenner will continue to be a center for renewable energy – some gladly and some grudgingly.
