New York siting regulators have approved the construction and operation of the 101.8-MW Eight Point Wind Project in Steuben County by an affiliate of NextEra Energy subsidiary NextEra Energy Resources LLC.
In an Aug. 20 decision, New York's State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment granted siting for NextEra's Eight Point wind farm. The project will consist of 31 turbines on leased or purchased lands located in the towns of Greenwood and West Union. Along with the construction of the turbines themselves, the wind project will also require the building of access roads, a collection substation, mostly underground 34.5-kV collection lines, up to two permanent meteorological towers, temporary staging and laydown areas, an operations and maintenance building, and related facilities.
The Siting Board determined that the wind farm will be a beneficial addition to the electric generation capacity of New York state and is consistent with the state's energy policy and planning objectives. The board also determined that the project will serve the goals of improving fuel diversity, grid reliability and modernizing grid infrastructure. The project's application was filed in November and December 2017 with the Siting Board, which consists of five permanent members and two members from the local community.
In addition, Eight Point Wind's developer has proposed a new approximately 16.5-mile overhead 115-kV transmission line to interconnect the project with New York State Electric & Gas Corp.'s existing 115-kV Bennett substation in the town of Hornellsville. That proposed transmission facility will be subject to review pursuant to Article VII of the Public Service Law and was not reviewed as part of the proposed project in the proceeding. New York State Electric & Gas is a subsidiary of Avangrid Inc.
