Billion Dollar Wind Turbine Project Set For Western New York

Chicago-based investors are working with four Southern Tier counties on a series of wind turbine developments whose final price tag could top $1 billion - with the largest percentage to be spent in Cattaraugus County.

Alle-Catt Wind Energy LLC, the development team behind the project, has proposed to build 83 wind turbines in portions of Cattaraugus, Wyoming, Allegany, and Chemung counties.

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The Cattaraugus County portion could see the construction of 38 wind turbines in portions of Farmersville and Freedom. That portion of the project represents a $618,874, 498 investment by Alle-Catt Wind Energy and would be the second largest private sector-backed investment in Cattaraugus County dwarfed only by the $630 million Great Lakes Cheese plant - currently under construction in Franklinville.

“This is a massive project,” said Corey Wiktor, County of Cattaraugus Industrial Development Agency executive director.

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The IDA is crafting an incentive package that is necessary for the project to advance.
Each turbine will produce 4 megawatts of power that will be fed into the grid. The project plays into a green energy initiative being championed by New York State.

“Remember, these projects only happen and are available only if the landowners sign off,” Wiktor said. “We are not trying to force anything.”

The turbine towers are slightly more than 600 feet tall -or 13.4% taller than the 38-story, Seneca One Tower in downtown Buffalo, which is 529 feet tall.

Wiktor said pending various approvals, construction on the Cattaraugus County portion of the project could start next year and take until 2027 to complete.