Jul 5 - McClatchy-Tribune Business News Formerly Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Steve Virkler Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.

Maple Ridge Wind Farm recently activated 20 new turbines, adding to the 120 that were put up last year.

"They are running and producing power as we speak," said Scott R. Alexander, operation manager at the wind farm. "They seem to be performing quite well."

Flat Rock Wind Power -- a joint venture of Horizon Wind Energy of Houston, Texas, and PPM Energy of Portland, Ore. -- last year began a $380 million, 195-turbine wind farm project in the towns of Lowville, Martinsburg and Harrisburg.

The remaining 55 turbines -- including at least seven that have been completely erected -- should be operational by October, Mr. Alexander said.

"We're right on schedule for this year, as far as construction goes," he said.

Turbine parts -- including 130-foot-long blades -- are being shipped to the Port of Oswego, then trucked to the project site.

Because of last week's extensive flooding in the central and southern parts of the state, the state Department of Transportation for a couple of days did not allow large loads -- like the turbine parts -- to be hauled, Mr. Alexander said. While that disrupted the project's delivery schedule, it only had a little impact on construction, he said.

Nearly all remediation -- including road repair and reseeding -- stemming from last year's work has been completed, "although the rain over the past three weeks has slowed us down a little," Mr. Alexander said.

Later this year, an operations and maintenance building is also to be constructed around the middle of Eagle Factory Road in the town of Lowville and an informational kiosk is to be set up at that road's intersection with Route 177.

As the turbines began turning in mid-December, some wind farm neighbors started noticing wave-like interference while watching television channels -- particularly WWNY-TV7 -- that were received via an antenna or "rabbit ears" on top of their sets.

The wind farm has received 124 complaints, and 94 have so far been resolved through equipment upgrades, Mr. Alexander said. "We're moving right along," he said.