A large wind power project is taking shape in Madison County. As with most projects of this size, the developer is asking for some tax breaks, but county leaders want to say no.
Liberty Renewables wants to build windmills on top of hills stretching across the midsection of Madison County. They call it the Hoffman Falls Wind project, one of three the company is developing, with the others in Cattaraugus and Cayuga counties. Each features 18 or 19 windmills, aiming to create 109.8 megawatts of power when fully operating.
Liberty has applied for a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement, as developers of major projects almost always do. But Madison County’s Board of Supervisors says the answer should be no.
Madison County Administrator Mark Scimone explains the board’s thinking, which begins with this: The project will create only two permanent jobs.
"PILOTs are supposed to be incentives for creation of jobs and business development," said Scimone". "That's kind of the main thing if you're going to do a pilot. So that's in lieu of, in this case, mortgage tax, sales tax, property tax. It's an incentive to bring something to the community, and the board felt that there's not jobs being created from this wind farm."
Liberty Renewables wants $30 million in tax relief over the next 20 years. A spokesperson said company officials weren’t available for an interview, but provided a statement touting what it says will be an investment of more than $450 million in Madison County, including revenue shared with county and local governments, school district and fire departments.
It says the construction will support 70 jobs, with maintenance contracts to local companies once the windmills are operating. It will fund a scholarship at SUNY Morrisville, give $100,000 for historical preservation, and provide annual income to the landowners leasing their hills to Liberty.
Liberty claims that a survey showed more than 70% local support for the project.
Liberty and the county are also in court right now. The county believes one of the proposed towers will interfere with emergency communications.
Scimone says it’s not that the county is opposed to green energy – the first wind turbines in the state were erected in Madison County.
"We've been very pro renewable energy, especially the smaller scale projects," Scimone said. "The county has a solar farm that powers 80% of the county office complex. And so, you know, we've been very pro solar and wind, But like I said, the board just doesn't want to incentivize, they just want them to pay their fair share."
The county’s Industrial Development Authority is independent and can make up its own mind, but Scimone says it hasn’t given similar projects tax benefits in the past. For the supervisors, it just boils down to this: Madison County’s leaders believe the developers are asking too much for too little.
