The Regulation of Wind Farms and Windmills in New York

New York has approximately 5,000 megawatts of land-based wind potential, enough to generate about 13 million megawatt-hours of power—equivalent to about 10 percent of the state’s electricity consumption.¹ Realizing that potential requires that commercial wind farm developers—as well as individuals interested in having a windmill constructed on their own property—and other interested parties, engage in a rather lengthy series of steps, from dealing with the technological issues to obtaining the necessary financing. Perhaps most importantly, they also have to work through the land use planning and zoning issues.

Public Utility

Wind farms and wind turbines in New York state often are regulated as a special or conditional use, which is a form of zoning regulation that authorizes a particular land use, subject to certain requirements designed to assure that the proposed use is in harmony with a municipality’s zoning ordinance and will not adversely affect the neighborhood.² Some municipalities specifically regulate wind farms as a special or conditional use, while others regulate wind farms indirectly by deeming them to be a form of public utility that requires a special or conditional use permit.