A wind energy project nearly a decade in the making entered active construction in Western New York this January. Heritage Wind, a 126-megawatt facility being developed by Apex Clean Energy in the Town of Barre, Orleans County, is now one of the largest active renewable energy construction projects in the region — and one of the most consequential infrastructure investments rural Orleans County has ever seen.

What Is Being Built

When complete, Heritage Wind will consist of up to 27 Vestas turbines generating up to 126 megawatts of electricity — enough to power approximately 32,000 homes annually, according to Apex Clean Energy. The project has been downsized from its original design, which called for 33 turbines at up to 184.8 megawatts, after Apex removed several turbines that had been sited near the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. The permitted turbine models are the Vestas V150 4.5 MW (640 feet tall) and the Vestas V162 6.0 MW (656 feet tall), with the shorter model expected to be used, according to Orleans Hub.

Supporting infrastructure includes approximately 10.5 miles of new access roads, 25.2 miles of underground collection lines, a 13.9-acre temporary construction laydown yard, and a five-acre operations and maintenance facility comprising two buildings totaling approximately 4,000 square feet. The facility will interconnect to the New York electrical grid through a new Point of Interconnection along National Grid's Lockport-Mortimer 115 kV powerline, per the project's official pre-construction notice filed with the New York Department of Public Service.

Construction Timeline

Phase I — tree clearing — began the week of January 19, 2026, per Heritage Wind's construction page. Full civil mobilization was scheduled to follow in the spring of 2026, with commercial operations targeted for the end of 2027. The project's total construction cost has escalated from an original $304 million to approximately $373 million, according to Orleans Hub's December 2024 reporting. Construction activities run Monday through Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., with extended-hours exceptions for delivery and specialized operations.

The project has navigated multiple rounds of state permitting. Heritage Wind received its Final Permit from the New York Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) on January 13, 2022, followed by a Modified Permit in April 2024 and two additional minor modifications in mid-2024 and December 2024. The fourth modification reduced the project's nameplate capacity from 173.6 MW to 126 MW, prompting a corresponding reduction in Host Community Agreement and PILOT payments, which are calculated per megawatt of installed capacity.

Community Benefit Agreements

Heritage Wind's financial commitments to local government are substantial. Under a Host Community Agreement (HCA) approved by the Barre town board, the Town of Barre will receive over $27 million over the project's 25-year operating life — structured at $6,750 per megawatt annually, totaling approximately $850,000 in the first year of operation, with payments increasing 2 percent annually for the first 15 years and 2.5 percent annually thereafter, per the October 2021 agreement announcement. The town collected just under $1.2 million in total property taxes in 2021, meaning Heritage Wind will effectively double annual collections.

Through a Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOT) agreement administered by the County of Orleans Industrial Development Agency (COIDA), Orleans County will receive over $4.7 million and the Albion Central School District will receive over $4.7 million over 25 years, according to the Heritage Wind community benefits page. The Orleans Economic Development Agency is also receiving an administrative fee of approximately $4.575 million in three payments — $775,000 in late 2024, and two $1.8 million payments tied to the PILOT closing and one year after, per Orleans Hub. EDA Executive Director Michael Dobell indicated some of the funds would be directed toward development of the Medina Business Park.

Participating landowners hosting turbines will receive annual lease payments totaling over $44 million across the project's 30-year lifespan, helping preserve family farm operations across Orleans County. Additionally, through NYSERDA's Host Community Benefit Program, every household in the Town of Barre will receive over $150 per year in electric bill savings for the first 10 years of operation — more than $1,500 per household over that period.

Energy Offtake and State Alignment

In January 2025, Apex Clean Energy announced a renewable energy certificate (REC) purchase agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) covering the full output of Heritage Wind's RECs. The agreement is part of New York State's Tier 1 Large-Scale Renewable program and supports the state's mandate to achieve a carbon-free electricity grid by 2040 under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. A compliance monitor was contracted in March 2026 through a NYISO-supervised process to oversee code and permit compliance during construction and post-construction phases.

Workforce and Local Impact

Construction is projected to support over 200 jobs during the build phase, with additional transportation, supply chain, and induced jobs generated by increased local spending, per the project's community benefits summary. Once operational, Heritage Wind will support up to eight full-time local operations and maintenance positions. For contractors and tradespeople active in Orleans, Genesee, and Niagara counties, the project represents one of the most significant concentrations of civil, electrical, and structural work in the region during 2026 and 2027 — spanning access road construction, turbine foundation work, underground cable installation, and substation interconnection.

Heritage Wind's construction signals a broader trend: Western New York's favorable wind resources, agricultural land availability, and proximity to existing high-voltage transmission infrastructure are drawing multi-hundred-million-dollar renewable energy investment to communities that have historically been passed over for large-scale capital projects.

Sources

Heritage Wind — Construction Page (heritagewindpower.com)
Heritage Wind — Community Benefits (heritagewindpower.com)
Apex Clean Energy — REC Purchase Agreement Announcement, January 9, 2025
Orleans Hub — Heritage Wind Construction and Community Payments, December 9, 2024
Heritage Wind — Town of Barre and Orleans IDA Approve Community Benefit Agreements, October 18, 2021
New York DPS — Heritage Wind Pre-Construction Notice, January 2026
NYSERDA — Heritage Wind Community Engagement Plan