Steel Winds Waterfront Wind Farm, Lackawanna, NY

E & E investigated the feasibility of developing a wind energy facility on a small portion of the Bethlehem Steel Works.  We prepared a Phase I avian risk assessment to address potential project impacts on birds and other avian species.  The work included a literature search, interviews with local and regional experts and site visits.  E & E also conducted a visual impact assessment to determine if there was any flexibility in terms of project design, orientation, and mitigation.  E & E also supported the client in proceeding before the Lackawanna Planning Board to successfully obtain site plan approval and a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR).

Currently under construction as the first urban wind farm in the country, the project is situated on approximately 9 acres of slag fill along the shore of Lake Erie.  The wind turbines are being placed along the lake, in a row beginning just north of Smokes Creek and extending to the site’s northern edge, just south of Buffalo Harbor.  For its work on the Steel Wins Waterfront Wind Farm, E & E won a 2008 Platinum Award for Engineering Excellence from the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York.