North Country Wind Farm is a large-scale project under development by Terra-Gen in the Towns of Bellmont, Burke, Chateaugay, and Clinton, in Franklin and Clinton Counties, New York. The project is a proposed up to 365 megawatts (MW) wind generating facility that will produce clean, reliable, and locally produced energy.
The project will bring several benefits to the community, including well-paying jobs during both construction and operation, improvements to local roads, and revenue to the community. The expected revenue includes tax payments of approximately $2.5M annually to the community, shared among the county and applicable towns and school districts, as well as more than $1.5M annually of lease payments to local landowners throughout the project area.
Terra-Gen is a trusted US-based renewable energy developer, owner and operator of projects across throughout the US. Wind energy has been a core part of the US renewables market, is central to New York's clean energy future, and helps support clean air, water and a healthy climate.
Technological advances allow turbines to capture energy from stronger, steadier winds than ever before.* The North Country project will construct up to 81 modern turbines, each generating 4.5 megawatts nameplate capacity with high reliability and availability, as well as predictable maintenance downtime. Today's wind farms provide the same grid reliability as conventional power plants.*
A recent National Power Demand Study predicts that US electricity demand will surge by as much as 50% by 2040. This is due to multiple new and ongoing demands: AI data centers, new manufacturing, electric vehicles, heat electrification, and economic growth. The demand is growing faster than our current supply can support. U.S. needs to leverage all available sources of homegrown power. *
The average price of onshore wind power has declined by 68% since 2010. Made in the USA-manufacturing and technological improvements contribute to the reduction of costs.* Over 500 factories in 41 states in the U.S. supply chain help avoid shipping large, heavy turbine components over longer distances.*
According to Lazard Inc.'s 18th edition of its Levelized Cost of Energy+ (LCOE+) report, that despite facing macro challenges and headwinds, utility-scale solar and onshore wind remain the most cost-effective forms of new-build energy generation on an unsubsidized basis (i.e., without tax subsidies).*
As such, renewable energy will continue to play a key role in the buildout of new power generation in the U.S. as the lowest-cost* and quickest-to-deploy generation.*
There are nearly 150,000 people working in the U.S. wind industry across all 50 states, and that number continues to grow. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, wind turbine service technicians are the fastest-growing U.S. job of the decade.* The North Country project will employ approximately 170 workers during construction and 12 plant operators once online.
Getting the U.S. energy system onto an environmentally sustainable track will require rapid and widespread development of wind, solar, and other renewable energy facilities; corresponding storage, transmission, and distribution infrastructure; and timely industry-specific transitions, such as battery electric vehicles replacing their combustion-engine counterparts. Broad public support exists for transformative climate policies, with a June 2023 Pew Research Center survey finding that 67% of U.S. adults prioritize developing renewable energy sources over increased fossil fuel production.1
Demand: The next decade will require more new electricity than any period in our nation’s history.
Solutions: Multiple forms of power generation are needed. Wind, Solar, Energy Storage, Natural Gas, and Nuclear will all play critical roes to meet demand.
Energy Security: Expanding domestic production strengthens our grid reliability and energy future.
Economic Opportunity: Renewable development creates jobs, revitalizes communities, and fuels innovation across the country.*
Host communities benefit from payments to local landowners, public road enhancements, increased tax revenues to fund local infrastructure and public services, schools and other community resources. The construction, operations and maintenance create direct and indirect benefits of additional jobs and increased demand for local goods and services within the community. Leases for wind energy provide a long-term stable source of income for the families that host the components of the project, and provide for additional secondary economic benefit in the area.
The proposed up to 365 MW North Country Wind Farm is to be located in the Towns of Bellmont, Burke, Chateaugay, and Clinton, in Franklin and Clinton Counties, NY. The project will have as many as 81 turbines and will also include collection lines, access roads, and a project substation. The project will connect to either the recently upgraded 345kV Haverstock-Willis transmission line or the existing 230kV Willis Substation.
As the proposed North Country wind project advances, public documents will be posted to this section.
Questions and misconceptions about renewable energy can be pervasive, and include topics ranging from health, environmental, ecological, and economic impacts. “Misinformation” and coordinated “disinformation” have at times undermined support for renewable energy projects. The report Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles, prepared by Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law (revised February 2025) addresses some of the more prevalent and persistent distortions about solar energy, wind energy, and electric vehicles, with the aim of promoting a more informed discussion. This report can be found: Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles
In December 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory published an updated study regarding wind turbines and home values. Researchers, which indicated wind energy projects can impact local economies through job creation, tax revenue, local landowner income, and changes to home sale prices. The study examined more than 500,000 home sales, and found that "no impact [to home prices] was found in less populous counties."
According to an American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) study, American wind power saves consumers money. Adding wind energy to the generation mix reduces electricity prices, helps protect against future price shocks, and makes the energy market more competitive.
Most of the components of wind turbines installed in the United States are manufactured here. There are 500 wind-related manufacturing facilities located across 41 states, and the U.S. wind industry currently employs more than 150,000 people.
Wind turbines can create two kinds of sound: a mechanical hum produced by the generator and a “whooshing” sound produced by the blades moving through the air. The vast majority of wind turbines are designed so that the turbine is upwind of the tower, which mitigates low-frequency and impulsive sound. Sound pressure levels for modern wind turbines at distances greater than 400 meters are typically less than 40 decibels (dBA), which is comparable to the lowest limit of urban ambient sound. Typically, two people can carry on a conversation at normal voice levels even while standing directly below a turbine.
Terra-Gen addresses potential sound issues in the permitting process through setback requirements and ensures that the project will comply with the applicable sound level regulations.
There are several options available for those who wish to monitor or participate in the proceedings. You may learn more here: New York State Department of Public Service Matter Management
Below are a few resources and articles where you can learn more about wind energy:
American Wind Energy Association
Southern Alliance For Clean Energy
CleanTechnica: Wind Energy Prices Continue To Fall Due To Technology Advancements & Cost Reductions
Forbes: Want The Cheapest Electricity? Build Solar And Wind Farms, Not Coal Power Plants
Fortune: The 20 Fastest Growing Jobs in America—And How Much They Pay
The siting process under 94-c requires that applicants submit with their application $1,000 for each MW of capacity, to be deposited into a local agency account to be made available to local agencies and potential community intervenors for the purpose of contributing to a complete record leading to an informed permit decision as to the appropriateness of the site and the facility, and for local agencies, shall include the use of funds to determine whether a proposed facility is designed to be sited, constructed and operated in compliance with applicable local laws and regulations. This includes the cost to defray expenses for experts. The application is anticipated Q1 2021. 75% of local agency account funds shall be reserved for local agencies.
Any local agency or potential community intervenor shall submit a request for initial funding within thirty (30) days of the date of application filing and that such request be made to:
Attention: Request for Local Agency Account Funding
Office of Renewable Energy Siting
One Commerce Plaza
99 Washington Ave
Albany, NY 12231-0001
Intervenor requests should be made to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, Attention: Request for Local Agency Account Funding, 99 Washington Avenue Albany, New York 12231-0001.
For more information, please see A Critical Review of the Scientific Literature and Noise and Health Survey.
Terra-Gen was established in August 2007, led by an experienced executive management team averaging over 25 years of relevant industry experience. The team has contracted or re-contracted over 10,000 MW of power generation facilities and has developed or acquired over $25 billion in assets over their careers.
