Archive: Around Town

A local group of business owners and longtime renewable energy proponents have formed new company to create an Ithaca area community wind farm.  Black Oak Wind Farm, LLC, was formed last week with six local residents who will serve on an initial seven person board of managers.  

The president of the company is Peter Bardaglio of Trumansburg, NY.   Peter is the former provost and vice president of academic affairs of of Ithaca College and is currently president of Seneca Strategic Consulting, LLC, a company specializing in the design, integration and implementation of strategies for organizations and communities seeking to accelerate their transition to a low-carbon economy.

Other board members are:  Charles Bartosch, Ithaca, NY;  Lexie  Hain, Ithaca, NY; Michelle Jones, Elmira, NY;  Leslie Hoffman,  Shelter Island, NY;  Dean Koyanagi, Ithaca, NY; and Marguerite Wells, Ithaca, NY (Project Manager).

Black Oak Wind Farm, LLC recently acquired the assets and development rights of Enfield Energy, LLC, which had been developing the wind farm site in the Town of Enfield for the past four years.  The Enfield Energy, LLC ownership group agreed to contribute all of the rights to the site, in return for an ownership interest in Black Oak Wind Farm, LLC.

“Our goal is to develop a wind farm patterned after a highly successful and community-owned wind farm project in South Dakota (South Dakota Wind Partners, LLC),” says Bardaglio.  South Dakota Wind Partners owns seven turbines adjacent to the Crow Lake Wind Farm in central South Dakota, a featured project in the Chevrolet Carbon Reduction Initiative.

The plan of the Black Oak group is to finalize the permitting and engineering for up to 30 MW of capacity in the next six months and prepare for construction in 2013.  

“We hope to be in a position to provide locally produced renewable energy to the Ithaca area industries and residents by 2014,” Bardaglio says.

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