OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon Margaret Bruegel of Forestville speaks at the Chautauqua County Board of Health. She says she has wind turbines within 500 feet of her home.

MAYVILLE – The push from community residents to see the Health Department issue new and stronger guidance regarding wind turbines and battery energy storage systems continues.

During the recent Chautauqua County Board of Health meeting, more than 30 residents were in attendance with a number of them speaking during the Privilege of the Floor at the beginning of the meeting.

A similar turnout occurred in January, the last time the Board of Health met.

Like after the January meeting, no decisions were made but board officials say they’re working on it.

“We are here with concerns about industrial wind and Battery Energy Storage Systems, which are being aggressively proposed by developers, in our community,” Karen Engstrom with Chautauqua Energy said.

A number of residents who have wind turbines near their homes spoke out as well, saying the turbines negatively impact their health.

In 2019, the Board of Health issued a memo to all county municipalities urging them to “pass a proper wind law that restricts IWTs (Industrial Wind Turbines) to a minimum of 1.5 miles from any property line and 35 or fewer decibels in sound frequency.”

Some residents at the meeting complained that that memo was either issued too late or simply ignored because they have turbines much closer to their homes.

One of those was Margaret Bruegel of Forestville.

“My property is immediately surrounded by six industrial wind turbines in the Ball Hill project – three 500 foot turbines in the town of Hanover, right across the road from my house and three 600 foot turbines right in the back of my property. The 500 foot turbines are less than a half a mile away. The 600 foot turbines are less than a mile away,” she said.

Bruegel said she’s noticed a drop of birds, insects and other wildlife since they’ve been installed. She shared how a neighbor passed away at 46 years old and another who had a stroke after they were operating.

“Coincidence? Perhaps but these were very healthy people, otherwise,” Brugel said.

Others had similar stories.

Carrie Ann Babcock lives within a half mile of two different turbines.

“The turbine sound reverberates inside our home. The sound is inescapable. You can hear and feel pulsating over the sound of the dryer, wood stove blower, and the radio and TV. … Living like this causes immense anxiety and depression,” she said.

John Conway lives in the Cassadaga Wind Project, with three turbines in front of his house, three behind it, three on one side and two on the other.

“We get shadow flicker in our house sometimes. It’s just so aggravating,” he said.

Luke Waygard lives in Ashville. He doesn’t have any turbines in his neighborhood yet, but he’s worried because he knows there’s an attempt to have some constructed there.

“We need your help. We’re a small township. I feel like these wind companies are basically choosing smaller townships, which don’t have the financial resources to be able to combat the sites,” he said.

One Dunkirk resident said she is concerned about the Battery Energy Storage System proposed in the city.

“The fires that can happen with those, they have to just let them burn out and they have to evacuate people within a 7 mile radius, so we would have to evacuate our home,” she said.

After residents shared their concerns, Board of Health officials thanked them for speaking.

Later in the meeting, Health Board President Dr. Elizabeth Kidder told board members that they have been emailed documents for them to review.

She asked board members to take that data as well as testimonies they’ve heard from residents to craft a letter that will be sent to municipalities.

Kidder said she wants the letter ready by the next meeting so the board can vote on it.

It’s to be determined whether there will be one letter regarding wind turbines and a second letter regarding battery energy storage systems or if the two topics will be addressed in the same letter.

WIND FARMS

In Chautauqua County, there are three functioning wind farms – Ball Hill, which sits in the towns of Hanover and Villenova; Cassadaga Wind, which sits in the towns of Charlotte and Cherry Creek; and Arkwright Summit, which is in the town of Arkwright.

Developer Bedrock Renewables is currently exploring the possibility of installing three new wind farms projects – Buttercup Wind, Dew Drop Wind, and Golden Rod Wind.

According to the company website, the Goldenrod Wind project would be placed in Ellery and Stockton, and will help provide roughly 40 MW of electricity. Buttercup Wind project would be placed in Sherman and North Harmony and will help provide roughly 50 MW of electricity. Dew Drop Wind would be placed in Westfield and Ripley and will help provide roughly 60 MW of electricity.

No timelines for any of these projects have been announced.

BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS

There are no Battery Energy Storage Systems in existence in the county right now.

Two developers have come before the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency regarding tax assistance for Battery Energy Storage Systems.

In August, 2024 the county IDA sold about 12 acres of vacant land in the town of Ellicott to Granite Source Power. The property is on Dow Street, south of Allen Street.

Granite Source Power officials said they’re looking to install a 100-megawatt battery storage project there.

They described their project as a shipping container that one would see on a freightliner. Inside the containers would be racks of modules made up of batteries.

Granite Source Power officials said the state takes two years to evaluate the grid. If the state gives its approval, the next step is procuring the equipment, which can take another two years.

If approved by the state, Granite Source Power officials said it may cost up to $100 million to construct and requested consideration for some sort of financial assistance.

IDA officials gave them until early 2027 to return to them with a plan.

Then in January, GCI Lighthouse Energy Storage met with the county IDA and discussed purchasing about 16 acres of land at 653 Brigham Road so it could install a Battery Energy Storage System with an interconnection capacity of up to 250 megawatt. This one had a price tag of up to $500 million.

Officials with GCI Lighthouse Energy had a more aggressive timeline, saying they were hoping to hear from NYSERTA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, by the spring. If they did get the green light, they would like to start construction in 2028 and be completed by 2030.