Gamesa’s Proposed Sandy Ridge Wind Farm

Wind farms today can be sited properly and developed responsibly. They don’t taint water supplies or emit harmful pollutants. Proper design helps to avoid conflicts with birds and protect natural habitat. Wind energy remains the cleanest means we have for powering our economy and improving the environment. Learn more at www.sandyridgewindfarm.com.

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Tyrone could receive as much as $150,000 annually, and as much as $5 million over the life of the project.

Tyrone Borough could receive as much as $150,000 annually, or between $3 million and $5 million, including royalties, over the life of the project, for the benefit of the community and local residents. In a little more than three years, Gamesa has invested $175 million in Pennsylvania and created 1,260 jobs statewide, including more than 350 in the Laurel Highlands and Allegheny Mountain region. Local businesses also benefit from the influx of construction workers and the addition of several permanent jobs for operation and routine maintenance of the wind farm.

The project footprint would use less than 3% of the total area.

For logical environmental reasons, Gamesa tries to work in previously disturbed areas as much as possible, which is why the Sandy Ridge project will incorporate nine miles of existing roads and less than five miles of new road. The clearing around each turbine is only 0.8 acres, minimizing impacts to the surrounding forest. On the 1,900 acres of Tyrone Borough property proposed to be involved in the project (which is only a portion of the watershed property owned by Tyrone), the wind farm footprint will be less than 50 acres. In other words, the actual footprint will be less than 3 percent of the total parcel area. Repairs to existing roads actually will help to reduce erosion and sedimentation, and all but a 15-foot-wide gravel portion of roadway will be replanted with a wildlife-friendly seed mixture to protect the state’s rich hunting traditions. Gamesa understands the effects of development and takes care to work in the most environmentally sound, ecologically sustainable manner.

Regulatory oversight is rigorous.

Four state and federal agencies are involved in overseeing the state’s natural resources and the wildlife. For each Gamesa wind farm, wildlife surveys are coordinated with and reviewed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources also reviews the site for plants. The Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission oversees cultural resource surveys; local land use regulations need to be followed; and the Federal Aviation Administration must issue a “determination of no hazard” to show that turbines will not interfere with flight paths. Development of a wind farm also requires a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit to protect water quality. The work is reviewed, inspected and overseen by the local conservation districts and the state Department of Environmental Protection to ensure the most stringent standards are met. All of these agencies contribute their findings and opinions to the permitting process.

Wind farms do not affect groundwater or surface water quality or quantity.

The notion that wind farms adversely impact water resources is without merit. There is no science to back up these claims, and in fact there are plenty of examples to prove the exact opposite is true. Gamesa’s Allegheny Ridge wind farm currently operates in an “exceptional value” watershed without any effect on streams in Cambria County. An independent hydrological engineer testified that Gamesa’s best management practices at a proposed wind farm in Somerset and Bedford counties would bring a net benefit to water quality and groundwater availability post construction, partly because of a superior approach to installation that includes fixing existing roads.

The wind farm actually could help to address existing problems in the forested area.

Tyrone Borough’s own forester concluded that he expected no negative environmental effects from a wind farm on watershed property, where there already are roads, buried phone cables and radio antennas. Because this is not untouched wilderness, he also reported that revenue generated from Gamesa’s lease agreement could be used to improve the forest area by addressing existing problems on the watershed property: extensive gypsy moth damage, invasive plant species, high quantity of deer that could require deer fencing, poor regeneration, and poor soils. Gamesa performs numerous studies to design wind farms that avoid conflicts with birds. Avian surveys are coordinated with and reviewed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Audubon Society “strongly supports wind power as a clean alternative energy source,” President John Flicker says, citing links to global warming. At least 20 percent of plant and animal species assessed so far are likely to be at greater risk of extinction if increases in global average temperature exceed 2.7 to 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit, according to United Nations reports.

Gamesa is concerned with resource protection and takes exceptional measures to study natural habitats.

Gamesa signed a voluntary agreement with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to assess potential effects to wildlife before building any wind farm. National environmental protection laws apply to all wind projects, and Pennsylvania has another layer of consultation and review by wildlife agencies. These safeguards ensure that impacts remain low and wind energy is developed responsibly.

The wind farm will provide clean energy to the grid for everyone’s use.

All electricity generated by any source typically goes to the nearest load. In the case of Sandy Ridge, that most likely would be the Tyrone North or Philipsburg substations. When you turn on your lights at home, there is no way to tell exactly where the electricity came from because all generation goes directly into the grid managed by the independent system operator, PJM, which serves all or part of 13 states in the Northeast, including Pennsylvania. This fact is true for all electricity generation in Pennsylvania, whether that’s wind, solar, natural gas or even coal. The notion that electricity generated by wind farms here is for use solely by out-of-state residents is entirely false.

Extensive studies show no adverse noise impact from the project.

Gamesa conducted several sound surveys and noise assessments in and around the project area of the potential Sandy Ridge wind farm. Pre-existing background sound levels were recorded at various locations near the project site and incorporated into a sound level contour map. Sound was modeled as coming downwind from each turbine in every direction at once, and conservative modeling was implemented to overestimate project sound so that predicted levels are maintained. Based on the results of the study, no adverse noise impact from the project is expected.

Learn more about the project by visiting www.sandyridgewindfarm.com, or e-mail Gamesa directly at pa-info@gamesacorp.com to have your questions answered.