The Madison County Board of Supervisors has gotten the wind up over a wind farm planned for the towns of Fenner, Nelson, Smithfield and Eaton.
The board passed a resolution on Tuesday, Aug. 11 asking the Madison County Industrial Development Agency not to approve a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, application from Hoffman Falls Wind, LLC. The project doesn’t bring the “substantial and measurable public benefits” needed to justify a PILOT agreement, according to a news release issued by the board.
Hoffman Falls Wind received a final siting permit from the New York State Department of Public Service’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission, or ORES, in December for a project with up to 18, 643-foot wind turbines generating up to 109.8 megawatts of power.
The board’s resolution also addressed the supervisors’ concerns for the health, safety and welfare of county residents and businesses as well as for natural resources. One of the supervisors’ main safety concerns has been that one of the proposed turbines could disrupt the county’s 911 communications system.
The supervisors pointed out that MCIDA is holding public hearings on the PILOT application in August during which residents can provide feedback.
This isn’t the first action the county has taken against the project. It filed a lawsuit in March seeking to stop or at least modify the project. The lawsuit contends that the project risks disrupting county 911 communications.
The towns of Fenner, Nelson, Smithfield and Eaton have also raised objections to the project, arguing that ORES issued the permit despite it violating numerous local laws and regulations. The violations involve regulations on issues such as permitted land uses, setbacks for wind turbines, noise limits, construction hours for wind energy facilities and restrictions on tall structures in a scenic vista/scenic byway overlay district, according to a petition for party status filed by the four towns in the permitting process.
Company says there is strong public support for project
But the project has widespread support in Madison County, contended Meg Lee, director of development for Liberty Renewables, Inc., parent company of Hoffman Farms.
Just over seven out of 10 respondents − 71% − to a community survey conducted recently by a third party expressed a “positive perspective” toward the project, she said.
“Since 2019, Liberty Renewables has worked alongside New York communities to develop projects that solve real-world energy challenges,” Lee said. “By partnering with residents and local leaders, we’re focused on strengthening local economic development and building long-term value for the region, while delivering the clean energy the public demands.”
Hoffman Falls is just one of a number of wind projects across the state that have drawn similar controversy for various reasons, including concerns over environmental issues, wildlife and bird impacts, historical and scenic preservation, and the circumvention of local control on large-scale projects.
The Holy Trinity Monastery and Seminary in Jordanville hosted a conference of Stop Energy Sprawl, a coalition concerned about the spread of wind and solar projects without local approval. The monks have a personal interest in the issue; they have been protesting the proposed Rolling Hills Wind Project, which would place turbines around the otherwise isolated monastery.
What Liberty Renewables’ plan includes
Liberty Renewables filed its first documents in the pre-permitting process for Hoffman Falls in June 2023. Renewable energy projects like Hoffman Falls, one large enough to deliver 25 MW or more of electricity, don’t need to be approved by municipal governments.
The state created ORES in 2020 to streamline the permitting process for utility-scale projects. The ORES approval process includes environmental review and consideration of local interests, according to the office.
Liberty Renewables’s permit, granted Dec. 22, 2025, allowed up to 24 turbines with a capacity of 100 MW.
The plan also included:
The project will improve grid reliability and build clean energy in keeping with the state’s commitment to sustainability, affordability and resiliency, Department of Public Service CEO Rory Christian said in a statement at the time of final approval.
Liberty Renewables later applied for a permit modification to eliminate six turbines from the project, to make related infrastructure and layout changes, and to increase the project’s capacity to 109.8 MW, changes made possible by the company’s choice of wind turbines for the project. ORES approved the modifications in March.
The changes did not affect the turbine the county supervisors are concerned could disrupt 911 communications.
The tentative timeline posted on Liberty Renewables’ website calls for construction to begin this year and for the farm to begin producing power in 2028.
Who benefits from PILOT agreement?
The PILOT application calls for the company to receive an exemption of real property, sales and mortgage recording taxes for the next 20 years, an exemption worth about $30.4 million, according to the board of supervisors. The supervisors’ release on their decision said they support PILOT programs that “maximize economic development” for taxpayers.
“The county finds that the magnitude of the requested tax exemptions is disproportionate to any demonstrable long-term economic and employment benefits identified in the application,” the resolution states.
The PILOT application mentioned just two permanent jobs, the supervisors’ release noted.
But Liberty Renewables, Inc. disagreed. In her statement, Lee touted the project’s expected economic impact with a total investment of about $450 million in Madison County.
Here’s how Lee said the project will benefit its host communities:
“Liberty Renewables has worked collaboratively and transparently with government leaders, landowners, and members of the public,” Lee said in the statement, “to align the proposed project with local priorities and deliver significant, long-term economic and community value.”
Public has 4 opportunities to speak out
The MCIDA hearings on the Hoffman Falls Wind PILOT application will be open to the public. They are taking place on:
Wind power in Madison County
Madison County already has two operational wind farms. The Fenner Wind Farm, with 20 turbines and a capacity of 30 MW, became operational in 2001. And the Munnsville Wind Farm’s 23 turbines began operating in 2007 with a 34.5 MW capacity.
A grassroots organization runs the Fenner Renewable Energy Education, or FREE, Center at the Fenner Wind Farm to educate the public about renewable energy.
The 11.55 MW Madison Wind Farm, the first commercial wind farm in the state, began operations in 2000, but the site has been decommissioned; its seven turbines were brought down by implosion in September.
About Liberty Renewables
Liberty Renewables is a New York state company founded in 2019 with a mission to “promote rural economic growth and environmental stewardship,” according to its website.
It is a portfolio company of CIV, a fund managed by CIP, a global leader in energy infrastructure investments, according to its website.
Liberty Renewables is developing two other wind projects in New York:
Lawsuit cites 911 interference
Madison County put out a press release raising its concerns about the wind farm’s impact on 911 communications last August. The engineering firm Microwave Networks Inc. had conducted an analysis and determined that four of the turbines had the potential to interfere with the microwave links between some of the county’s 911 towers, according to the release.
The analysis determined that the risk was most significant for Turbine 6, located between the Mutton Hill and Carrys Hill towers, a spot that’s critical for communications in the county’s largest town, the Town of Sullivan. And Turbine 6 could potentially also disrupt communications for New York first responders and for emergency response on the New York State Thruway, according to the release.
The release noted, though, that Liberty Renewals has said that every turbine will be sited with 52 feet of clearance to microwave signals, enough, it claimed, to avoid any microwave interference.
The county filed its suit in March against Hoffman Falls, ORES and former ORES executive director Zeryai Hagos, who left the office in April.
In the suit, the county asks the courts to reverse the ORES approval and direct it to revoke the project’s siting permit or to direct ORES to call for changes and conditions, including, but not limited to, the removal or re-siting of Turbine 6.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Madison County aims to block wind farm via PILOT opposition, lawsuit
Reporting by Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
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By Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
