Tully, NY -An out-of-state company wants to build Onondaga County’s first wind farm, putting about two dozen turbines taller than the Washington Monument across the hills of Tully, Lafayette and Otisco.

The project is in the early stages. The developer, Palmer Capital out of Boston, has yet to submit official plans to the state.

But it’s promising to generate 152 megawatts from a proposed wind farm called Maple Harvest. That’s enough to power about 58,000 homes, the developer says.

Already, a group of residents and town leaders are fighting the idea even as the developer is signing leases with some of their neighbors. Those agreements could pave the way for transmission lines and giant windmills across plots of farmland in just a few years.

Opponents say the wind turbines may lead to dangerous mudslides, hurt wildlife and threaten water quality. They say the farm will block their views, drop property values and create construction noise, all while adding the throbbing hum of whirling blades to their rural communities.

Next door in Madison County, a similar fight is brewing. There, a separate company aims to build 25 643-foot high turbines in a place that embraced smaller windmillsjust a few decades ago.

But this time, the windmill companies have a big advantage, despite the local criticism. That’s because in 2024, New York took much of the approval process out of the hands of townslike Otisco and Fenner and elevated it to a state energy office.

The move to bypass town planners and boards is part of New York’s overall goal of fast-tracking renewable energy projects, experts say. The state, overall, has committed to an emission-free electric grid by 2040.

That makes it difficult for local residents and leaders to block these projects.

“There has to be a reason other than ‘we don’t like it’ and ‘can’t you put it somewhere else,’” said Marguerite Wells, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, a renewable energy trade group.

Del Wayne, who is retired and has lived on his 40-acre farm along Route 80 in Tully for 40 years, said three of the turbines would be placed on a hill above his home. He said his neighbor has signed a lease with Palmer.

Wayne said he turned down signing a lease to allow transmission lines to connect to the power grid on his land. He declined to describe the offer.

“These turbines would literally be in our back yards,” he said. “They are massive structures, and they don’t belong in this neighborhood.”

A handful of landowners would benefit from lease payments, he added. “The rest of us would suffer,” he said.

With much of the decision power in Albany, two dozen windmills are likely headed for the hills of Madison County.

But in Onondaga County, the opponents have an argument that could throw a wrench into Palmer Capital’s churning plans.

The developer is aiming to install the turbines in some places that are prone to mudslides. Environmental concerns like that can make it harder to get a project approved, experts say.

A spokeswoman for Palmer Capital says the company is studying that concern.

“We acknowledge these concerns and are working to collect data to better understand how this impacts the viability of the project,” said Lindsay Deane-Mayer, speaking for the developer. That involves taking soil samples and collecting geologic information, she said.

Maple Harvest and mudslides

Palmer’s proposed $324,000 wind farm would erect about 25 turbines across southern Onondaga County. Each one would be 650 tall and weigh about 465 tons.

The developer has met with the town boards and held public meetings for residents – all requirements under the new state law. Already, more than a dozen landowners have signed leases, Deane-Mayer said.

The proposals in Central New York are part of one of the fastest growing energy sectors. Nationwide, wind power accounts for at least 10% of all energy production.

“Wind energy is one of the lowest cost energy sources in the country and provides domestic electricity at predictable rates, while not emitting air pollution,” she said.

Palmer hasn’t yet submitted a formal application to the state office that now regulates and has final approval over land-based turbine farms – the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission. It’s called ORES (OR-iss) for short.

That will likely happen in 2026, with construction possibly in late 2027 or 2028, Deane-Mayer said.

Since taking over approvals last year,ORES has approved two wind applications and denied none statewide, according to James Denn, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Service, of which ORES is a part.

In Onondaga County, some residents are already mounting a fight. They’ve formed Southern Hills Wind Watch, anonprofitthat has about 750 followers on Facebook.

Their best arguments? Mudslides and water.

In April 1993, New York state’s largest landslide in 75 years occurred in the Tully Valley. Mud slid down the east side of Bear Mountain,destroying three homes and covering an area of 1,500 feet of Tully Farms Road with mud 15 feet deep. A combination of events led to the slide, including record snowfall during the winter.

Palmer wants to put four turbines on that same mountain. Another seven would be west of Tully on Curtin Road near Song Mountain.

“The company is irresponsibly siting these turbines on top of hillsides that are active landslide zones,” said Jennifer Paisley, who lives in Tully and is a member of the wind watch group along with her husband, who is a geologist.

Other proposed turbine sights, including along the hills of Dutch Hill and Curtin roads, have prompted similar concerns, she said.

“Then you add rain and snow-packed runoff and vibration and that aggravates and increases the probability of landslides,” said Paisley, who added that 15 turbines would end up within a mile of her home. “If you want to move a hillside, add water and shake it. It’s a question of when it will come down, not if.”

In August 2021, a storm dumped 8 inches of rain in Tully and the road slid down the mountain on Curtin Road, said Colleen Zawadzski, another Southern Hills member who lives in Tully. It took a year to rebuild that road.

Green-lighting a wind farm

Wind farm developers seekthose kind of hilly sites near Paisely and Zawadzski’s homes:Elevated land where turbines can catch wind, according to Wells, the director of the renewable energy trade group.

After identifying the site, developers then approach landowners to sign leases to put the turbines or transmission lines on their property. Once a turbine is standing on the land, it can bring the landowner $15,000 to $30,000 per year per windmill, Wells said.

The developer can’t take land by eminent domain, although that’s a common misconception, she says.

But once a company has enough leases, it can begin the formal proposal process with the state, she said.

While ORES has the power to green light wind farms, it also requires developers to submit to several environmental and technical reviews that must also pass muster with state and federal agencies. This includes the Public Service Commission, the state agency that regulates utilities.

Those requirements include a range of studies, from effects on birds and bats and wetlands to safety measures for air traffic, which usually take about 18 months. Those ultimately must gain approval from agencies such as the state’s Department of Environmental Conversation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Along the way, the developer must prove to ORES that they have consulted with the municipalities and communities that would host the turbines. That typically means informational sessions meetings with town boards and other stakeholders. Once a draft permit is issued, there is a public comment period.

Ultimately, the final approval comes from Zeryai Hagos, according to the state Department of Public Service. He’s a former General Electric executive who’s worked for two decades in private and public energy markets, and the currentORES executive director.

Local towns don’t get a vote on the project, like they would about a new shopping mall or factory.

“It’s a rapid siting process,” Zawadzski said. “Frequently by the time we can get involved it feels like it’s too late.”

The developer must, however, follow local zoning laws that include requirements such assetbacks from roads and other properties.

Even so, the companies can apply toORESfor exemptions from those local requirements, Wells said. To win that argument, the developer must prove the town put in an unreasonable requirement, said Barry Wygel, who is also with the energy alliance.

With the Madison County project, for example, the developer has already asked for an exemption from the town’s setback requirements.

Who benefits?

Once these wind farms are online, the electricity produced is transmitted to the electric grid for use by electricity consumers. Maple Harvest’s energy generated in Onondaga County would most likely be sold to NYSERDA, an energy arm of state government, Dean-Mayer said.

That means some of the power could end up in local homes and businesses. But the energy would also be transmitted to meet demand in other parts of the state.

Still, there are some financial incentives for towns and residents when windmills move in.

First, towns can negotiate a special property tax agreement with developers to guarantee larger payments to local governments and schools than traditional taxes, officials said.

Second, a state-mandated programforces the developer to reduce electric bills forresidents who live in the affected communities. In that program the developer pays about $1,000 for every megawatt to be shared among residents, Wells said.

Then an optional program calls for the developer to pay the town or residents a one-time fee or annual fee. For example, a new project in Madison County called Hoffman Falls would give neighbors of the project annual payments of $100,000.

What’s next?

Over in Madison County, Fenner already has a wind farm with 20 turbines that are 329 feet tall.

The new Hoffman Falls project would install another 24 turbines nearly twice as tall, 643 feet high, according to Liberty Renewables, the developer behind the project. Liberty wants to put a dozen in Fenner, one in Nelson, three in Smithfield, and eight in Eaton.

Overall, they would generate 100 megawatts of wind energy.

That project is further along. ORES issued Liberty a draft permit on Feb. 18, said Juliana Heffern, senior permitting associate with the Liberty. About 40 landowners have signed agreements to lease their land for the project, Heffern said.

A public comment hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 23 at Madison Hall in Morrisville.

Heffern said they have held three open houses, engaged with about 160 community members and appeared at about 20 town board meetings.

Still, Sue Yanulis, a Fenner planning board member, said they are worried about safety amid the sheer size of the turbines.

She said one concern residents have is that Liberty Renewables, the developer, has asked to waive the local setbacks.

In 2016, a113-foot blade fell off a wind turbine at the Fenner wind farm. The 187-ton windmill it was attached to collapsed in 2009. No one was hurt, Yanulis said, but addes some are worried it could happen again.

In Onondaga County, the Southern Hills group says they sponsored an informational meeting in Tully in January, are researching and gathering data and have distributed lawn signs stating their opposition.

In the meantime, they may have an ally in President Donald Trump. He signed an executive order last month to withhold any new approvals from federal agencies for wind projects. That could delay approvals from federal agencies like the FAA, although it’s unclear if that could happen, experts and officials say.

For now, town boards in Tully, LaFayette and Otisco have passed resolutions opposing the project, local measures that have no legal authority when it comes to derailing the developer’s plans.

Otisco Town Supervisor Glenn Hall said he’s heard from a lot of residents who don’t want the turbines. He, too, opposes the windmills.

But he also concedes it’s largely out of his hands.

“Even the construction phase would be a disruption to our town,” he said. “I really don’t have a sense of whether it’s going to happen or not.”

Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime 315-470-3012 or email edoran@syracuse.com