Officials prepare for wind farm taxes

MORRISVILLE -- As the tax exemptions of Madison County’s wind farms near their expiration, Fenner Supervisor Russ Cary is asking fellow officials to be vigilant of the change.

The impending tax revenue from wind farms located in Madison County will be a tremendous resource for towns, school districts and the county, Cary says, but officials need to be alert and hold the energy companies accountable.

At the county’s Committee on Energy meeting Thursday at Morrisville State College, Cary, who chairs the committee, solicited the support of fellow officials to monitor the switch. The change in tax status for the Fenner wind farm alone could expand the town’s current tax base of $130 million by nearly 25 percent.

DeRuyter Supervisor Dan Degear, a member of the committee, and IDA Executive Director Kipp Hicks agreed to enlist organizations such as the New York State Association of Counties to make sure wind turbines are placed on the tax rolls and exemptions aren’t unfairly extended.

The 19-turbine wind farm installed in Fenner in 2001, operated by Enel North America, was granted a 15-year tax exemption. In exchange, Enel has made payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT); in recent years the town has received about $180,000 annually, Cary said.

That status will expire in 2017, adding some $30 million of taxable property to the tax base of the town, school district and county.

According to the county’s Real Property Tax Services Director Carol Brophy each of the county’s current turbines is assessed at $1.6 million. That value may change by the time their tax exemption expires.

It’s critical that the switch happens, Cary said. The taxes from the turbines could drastically improve the financial conditions of the towns, schools and the county.

Wind energy should be treated like any other industry that comes into the area, Cary said, and be held to the terms of tax agreements. With no indication that wind energy companies will try to duck their responsibilities, Cary said it’s still important to have officials on the state level aware of the issue.

With the proceeds of the current wind farm in Fenner, Cary said his town has been able to afford better equipment to maintain its roads, while lowering its tax rate.

In other renewable energy areas, the county has taken a strong initiative to spur the development of residential and commercial solar power, along with other forms of energy sources.

At Thursday’s meeting, Madison County Planning Director Scott Ingmire updated the committee on the progress of Solarize Madison, an initiative that offers financial incentives for purchasing or leasing solar panels. Informational sessions were held throughout the county to promote the program, finishing last week. Ingmire said more than 200 people turned out for the sessions and at least 100 have signed up for site assessments so far. Nearly 10 people have already signed purchase contracts.

“I think the reception has been exceptional,” Ingmire said. Hicks agreed, saying “it’s been more successful than we could’ve ever imagined.”

Educational workshops will be held at Morrisville State College July 16, 23 and 30 at 7 p.m. to continue to promote the initiative. For more information, visit: www.solarizemadison.com.

Work on the committee’s microhydro facility at Oxbow Falls Park - spearheaded by RETC Assistant Professor Phil Hofmeyer - is complete.

An electrical inspection still needs to be done before the facility can be opened for public display. Even though it’s an off-thegrid system, it still must comply with national electrical code.

Cary hailed the system as a “remarkable project.” Hofmeyer, along with his students installed the system, harnessing the power of the waterway’s flow to produce energy. The system has been successful enough to produce an excess of energy, in surplus of what the facilities at the park need.

A similar setup is expected to be installed in New Woodstock.

Construction of the facility is likely to start next month. That microhydro project will also be open to the public, as a demonstration of the renewable energy technology. Ideally, in the distant future, Hofmeyer said he would like to use the facility to power the handful of homes surrounding it.

Hofmeyer and students have also collected data on waterways throughout the county, their flow estimates and their potential for hydropower.

Ingmire has compiled that data into a map program that will soon be made public. Ingmire said the map will be detailed enough for residents to determine if streams on their property have the potential for a microhydro project.