Fenner Wind Power Facility Public Dedication

State’s Largest Wind Energy Purchases Announced as Newest Energy Technology Takes Root on New York Farms New York Customers Commit to Buy Wind as Community Dedicates Largest Wind Farm in the East

October 9, 2002

(Fenner, NY) – The largest wind power project east of the Mississippi was dedicated here today at a gala celebration of wind power purchasers, community leaders, and the public from around the state.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) contributed $5 million to the construction of the project, and provided $1 million to market the wind facility’s output to upstate utility customers. "Gov. Pataki's mandate is clear: Improve New York's energy efficiency, while protecting our environment, and solidifying our State's economic base," said William M. Flynn, President of NYSERDA. "NYSERDA's contributions speak directly to those goals,” Flynn added.

The celebration recognized the state’s largest retail wind energy purchases to date— including purchases by SUNY at Buffalo, Penguin-Putnam Publishers, and the Federal office buildings in Binghamton and Utica — which along with 1000’s of residential customers support the cost of bringing new, pollution-free wind energy to the New York grid.

“This is a customer driven market,” said Brent Alderfer, President of Community Energy, Inc.—the company marketing the wind energy to New York electric customers. “In the opening weeks of this market, New York customers have already made a strong statement that they want new sources of energy that produce no pollution and use no fuel.” Customers in both NYSEG and Niagara Mohawk territories can purchase Community Energy’s New Wind Energy product directly from their electric utility.

The Fenner wind project was dedicated today in a public ceremony that attracted thousands of local residents. More than 200 elementary school children participated in a community celebration of the dedication, and the winning student wind energy design was printed on a T-shirt distributed at the event.

“Wind power is the way of the future,” said Rocco (“Rocky”) DiVeronica, Chairman of the Madison County Board of Supervisors. “It is a clean and renewable source of electric power and is also the world’s fastest growing energy source.” Madison County is working toward meeting Gov. George E. Pataki’s mandate that all state agencies must buy 10 percent of their power from renewable sources, including wind power, by 2005, with the percentage rising to 20 percent by 2010.

"This purchase of wind power is a natural outgrowth of our aggressive pursuit of energy conservation and environmental sustainability," said Walter Simpson, Energy Officer for the University at Buffalo (UB), the largest campus in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. "Since burning fossil fuels, especially coal, produces acid rain and global warming-producing emissions, UB is proud to be the first SUNY campus to purchase the entire output of a new, emission-free 1.5 MW wind turbine.”

“Wind power is our new cash crop,” exclaimed Scott and Donna Griffin, one of fourteen community families who have leased portions of their property to the wind project. “The turbines take up less than one percent of our land and we farm right up to their base. This wind power facility is a welcome addition to our community,” they continued.

The Fenner wind project was co-developed and is owned by CHI Energy, Inc., an independent power producer with 80 renewable energy-generating facilities in the U.S. and Canada. Steve Pike, Project Manager of CHI, stated, “CHI Energy is pleased to have worked with New York State to develop this facility. We continue to receive tremendous support from the local community and can now provide the residents and businesses of New York State with the opportunity to secure wind generated electricity, which sets the platform for the customer support so critical to sustaining developments such as these.”

Atlantic Renewable Energy Corporation, a leading developer of wind projects on the east coast, was the site developer and project co-developer. William M. Moore, Principal of Atlantic Renewable Energy Corporation, added, "When I first talked to Fenner farmers, in October of 1998, about "farming the wind", they thought I was a little crazy. But now that the turbines are up and spinning it's tremendously gratifying, and we couldn't have done it without the trust and support of our landowners, who are the backbone of the Project.”

State-of-the-art 1.5-megawatt wind turbines produced by California-based GE Wind Energy use longer, slower-turning blades to provide higher efficiencies and almost imperceptible background sound. “We are pleased and proud to be a part of this showcase wind energy project – the largest in the New York State” said Steve Zwolinski, President and CEO of GE Wind Energy. “Our 1.5 MW turbine is proven and reliable, and a good match for the area.“

The Fenner Wind Power Facility is located on approximately 2,000 acres of farmland leased from 14 different landowners in the Town of Fenner, about 40 miles southeast of Syracuse. The project employs twenty 1.5 MW wind turbines, the largest turbines manufactured in the U.S. With an estimated annual generation of 89,000 megawatt-hours, the Fenner Wind Power Facility should provide enough clean, renewable electricity to annually serve approximately 10,000 average American households. Compared to the average electric generation in New York, the project will offset approximately 135 million pounds of air pollution. This is the carbon dioxide equivalent of planting over 14,000 acres of trees or taking 7,600 cars off the road.

In addition, NYSERDA’s President William M. Flynn noted that “Gov. Pataki's recent announcement to allocate $17 million to construct 315 MW of new wind power by 2004 signifies a major commitment to wind power in New York."

Community Energy, Inc. (CEI) is the leading marketer of wind-generated electricity, under the New Wind Energy TM brand. CEI customers include the five largest purchasers of wind-generated electricity in the nation. More information is available at www.newwindenergy.com.