RES America Developments' Ball Hill Wind Farm, located in western New York, will share $175 million with four other clean energy projects awarded by Gov. Cuomo, D-N.Y., as part of the Reforming the Energy Vision program. RES America's 100 MW wind farm is located in Chautauqua County in the towns of Villenova and Hanover.
Once operational, the five projects will add approximately 116 MW of new renewable capacity, which will provide about 356,000 MWh of renewable energy annually.
According to the release, the projects were competitively selected through the renewable portfolio standard (RPS) process that continues to provide price stability and greater long-term certainty to contractors through contract terms of up to 20 years. This is the second solicitation for 20-year contracts. The weighted average award price for this 10th main-tier solicitation is $24.57/MWh of production over the 20-year terms of the awarded contracts.
In addition to the wind farm, the projects include the following:
- Orbit Energy, New York City: Orbit Energy Inc. will build a 9.6 MW anaerobic digestion biogas-to-electricity facility in Staten Island that will use food waste and other organic materials provided by area restaurants, supermarkets and food manufacturers;
- Lyons Falls Mill Hydro, North Country, N.Y.: Northbrook Lyons Falls LLC will add 5.2 MW to an existing hydroelectric facility in Lewis County, resulting in a total installed capacity of more than 11 MW;
- Morgan Stanley Headquarters, New York City: Morgan Stanley will install a 790 kW fuel cell in its Manhattan offices, where the technology's low-emissions generation will contribute to load reduction, system reliability and cleaner electric power; and
- Fulton Unit 2, Central New York: Erie Boulevard Hydropower, LP, a subsidiary of Brookfield Renewable Energy Group, will install a new 560 kW minimum-flow turbine at a hydroelectric facility in Oswego County. This unit will generate electricity using minimum flows required by the project's license – making use of this energy resource while protecting the environment.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), which administers the RPS program for the state, will issue one additional RPS main-tier solicitation for larger renewable projects in 2016 – which is expected to be funded through the Clean Energy Fund.
NYSERDA has proposed a $1.5 billion public investment in renewables over 10 years, which is comparable to the level of investment made over the past decade through the existing RPS.
Pictured: The Bear Mountain Bridge
