Editor's Note: The test station was mentioned and discussed at the December 20, 2003 meeting of the Citizens for Spafford. The Bullett then contacted Chris Fesko, who declined to comment "on the record" at that time. To view all recent articles on wind power from the Syracuse Newspapers
A ridge overlooking the southeastern shore of Skaneateles Lake is being studied as a possible site for a commercial wind power project.
If a wind project is pursued there - and that's still a big if, according to the developer - it would be the first proposed in Onondaga County.
Invenergy LLC, a wind energy company based in Chicago, erected a meteorological tower last October on property owned by dairy farmers Chris and Rick Fesko in the town of Spafford.
The tower, which supports instruments to measure wind speed, is on a ridge east of Route 41, which runs between Skaneateles and Otisco lakes. The location is about 10 miles south of the village of Skaneateles.
Eric Miller, manager of business development at Invenergy, said it's too soon to predict whether his company will seek to build wind turbines in the area. The company needs at least 12 months of weather data to make its evaluation. But there are other factors to consider, too, Miller said.
One such factor is New York state's plan to require greater renewable energy use, the details of which are still being negotiated in Albany. Access to utility transmission lines is another factor.
And then there's the issue of whether Spafford residents would accept a wind farm in such a scenic area.
"Visual impact is always an issue with these projects," Miller said. "We don't expect it to be any different if we pursue this project."
The prospect of wind turbines along the ridge might force local environmentalists to choose between green energy and the sweeping natural vista, said Joyce Barnett, a town board member who lives about three miles from Fesko's farm.
Some town residents, upon learning the purpose of the tower on Fesko's farm, traveled to the Fenner Windpower site in Madison County to get a feel for the visual impact, Barnett said. If a proposal for a wind farm surfaces, she expects a "huge debate."
"A lot of people want to support it, because it's a good clean alternative energy source," she said. "And we do have a lot of environmentalists in the community. It's a beautiful natural area. It's still very much a rural area. People move out here because they appreciate the land, so a lot of them do tend to be environmentalists. There is support for that project from that perspective.
"But the dilemma of it is that another feature of our town is the beautiful open vistas. . . . If that goes through, the vista will be very much visually polluted. I would say that's probably the only downside to the project, but in many people's minds that will be a very substantial issue."
Miller declined to speculate about how big a wind farm his company might propose if it decided to build in Spafford. He said only that most wind farms built or proposed in New York are modest in size, usually between 10 and 30 freestanding wind turbines.
"This is one that's just a study," he said of the Spafford site. "I wouldn't want to imply that there's anything else there."
Chris Fesko, who makes educational videos about farming in addition to working her own farm, said she began seeking out wind power companies about five years ago. Prodigious winds swirl across the high ridge where she lives, from which she can see the lights of Rochester at night.
She talked to several companies, but didn't find a suitable developer.
By happenstance, Invenergy came knocking last year. Fesko was ready to talk.
Miller "didn't have to sell it to me," she said.
"I look at it as a crop," Fesko said. "It's not going to hurt anybody. I think it's a great resource, and why not use it. That's what farmers are, great utililizers of resources."
Gordon Ireland, Spafford's town supervisor, said he is aware of the study at Fesko's farm. Speaking personally, Ireland said he would support a wind farm. But he said he did not know what response a wind farm proposal would bring from other town residents.
A proposed wind farm would face public review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, a process that involves public hearings and input from state and federal environmental agencies. Typically, the local municipality serves as the lead agency in the process.
Invenergy is a 3-year-old company formed to acquire power plants and to build and operate wind power projects. The company has 25 wind projects at various stages of development in 13 states and Canada.