A wind turbine construction company has been given more time to complete its local project.

The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency recently approved a resolution for the Ball Hill Wind Turbine project to extend the project completion date, since the developer has had to replace the turbine’s foundations.

Richard Dixon, IDA chief financial officer, discussed the resolution before the vote.

“Ball Hill had some trouble,” he said. “It’s been very well documented in the paper. (In 2021) they poured all their towers and bases. When they tested those towers late in the fall, none of them passed so they had to dynamite every single base for their towers. …They repoured all of those and they are ready to set their towers in the spring.”

Dixon noted that the blades are currently sitting in Pennsylvania, not too far from the New York border. The Erie Times News reported that location is near Interstate 90 in Harborcreek.

“They were having a little trouble with the permits from New York state to get the blades over here as well, but everything is back on track now,” he said.

Attorney Milan Tyler said the resolution does not give any additional tax breaks, but just allows the developer additional time for completion.

“It’s nothing more than to recognize that they need another year for the construction,” he said.

The Ball Hill Wind Project will place 22 turbines in the town of Villenova and three turbines in the town of Hanover.

Developer Northland Power has already agreed to pay Chautauqua County nearly $1.2 million on road repair from transporting the turbines. No announcement has been made if that amount will increase with the new turbines.

Dixon said although the bases had to be removed, he said the company recycled the concrete and are using gravel from Chautauqua County. “They did the right thing,” he said.

Jeffrey Nemeth, director of project development for Northland Power, expects that once winter comes to an end, work will again ramp up at the locations. “The interconnection and project substation have been erected and we were truly prepared for the turbines to be delivered. But due to some delays, it’s going to be pushed into (2023),” he said.

Nemeth said deliveries of the turbines should begin in April and May to the sites with operation in place by July.

The resolution to extend the completion date for the Ball Hill Wind turbine project was unanimously approved.

Ball Hill is the third wind turbine project in Chautauqua County. The other two are the Arkwright Summit Wind Farm, which has 36 turbines in the town of Arkwright and the Cassadaga Onshore Wind Farm, which has 37 turbines in the towns of Charlotte and Cherry Creek.

Editor John D’Agostino contributed to this report.