Aug. 19--ARMENIA TWP. -- One down and 66 to go.

Poking above the treeline off Mountain Avenue on Armenia Mountain, the first wind turbine as part of the multi-million dollar AES wind turbine project in Armenia Township, Bradford County, and Tioga County, has been erected. Wiring and mechanical remains to be done on the towering structure.

Jim Coley, site civil manager with RES, the general contractor for the project, said the wind turbine erection was completed on Saturday. Foundation work on the remaining turbines is 95 percent done.

The whole job is on schedule," he said.

On Tuesday, Coley provided The Daily Review with a tour of the project site, which has involved 10 major companies, the employment of about 200 people, and the building of 21 private roads, which provide access for deliveries of the large and heavy turbine components.

The roads, which are identified by letters of the alphabet, have several wind turbine sites along them. Road "L" has seven. Currently, the blades and tower sections are waiting to be assembled, with some base parts of the towers up.

The blades, Coley said, each weigh 13,889 pounds while the nacelles, or machine heads, which contain a generator, gear reduction equipment, and motors, each weigh 127,000 pounds. The turbines are 250 feet tall from the ground to the center of the hub, and then another 124 feet to the top. The blades are 121.4 feet long.

Despite the size of the blades, Coley said, "it doesn't take much to turn one of these things." He compared the turbines to "a ship with all its sails up."

Coley said it takes about a month to erect a turbine.

When up and running, the electricity generated by the turbines will go through an underground collection system and to a substation, which is currently being built off Swamp Road. It then will go to a switchyard in Troy Township in the area of Bohlayer's and on to transmission lines to be distributed.

Coley noted there have been "a lot of local people" involved in the project. Citing some examples, he noted that gravel from Cross Quarry has been used and Pequignot Logging has cleared trees.

He believes the wind turbine project is bringing some positive changes to Armenia Mountain.

In addition to the "green" energy that will be produced and the inclusion of local people, he said improvements have been made to roads, such as Swamp Road. The roads, he said, have been "beefed up" and widened to accommodate the heavy equipment traveling over them.

Swamp Road, he said, was more like a trail before work was done to it. He noted that it was widened and gravel was put down, which he said was an improvement.

Safety is also a big concern on the project, he said.

Each week, a safety meeting is held attended by everyone working on the site. The wind turbine traffic is advised to drive slowly.

Only one accident on-site has happened so far, Coley said, but it wasn't life-threatening. A worker had a broken thumb. He wasn't certain as to the specifics of the incident.

Those from out of the area working on the project, he said, are eating in local restaurants and have attended such events as the Troy Fair. They are staying in hotels and renting houses.

The project is expected to be finished by the end of the year, at which time the 67 wind turbines will be functioning.

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