Larry Rulison is reporting for the Times Union that the Port of Albany is saying "no" to $29.5 million in federal funding for the construction of a $350 million wind turbine tower manufacturing facility on the Hudson River. Walking away from the award will speed up the permitting process after falling behind schedule. The grant was allocated to the Port of Albany by the U.S. Department of Transportation and has been in jeopardy since the summer when the port clear-cut more than 80 acres of waterfront land in the town of Bethlehem without federal permits. In early 2022, a group of more than 20 Glenmont residents sued the port and the town of Bethlehem for clearing 80 acres of land on the Hudson River for the project allegedly without providing proper notification to local homeowners. At its monthly meeting on September 28, port officials said they were withdrawing the grant application with the DOT, thereby allowing the project to move forward more quickly, which must be completed by the end of next year. It is unclear how the port will replace the funding, which was supposed to pay for infrastructure at the Hudson River site, known as Beacon Island. The port bought Beacon Island several years ago in anticipation of constructing the facility, which is being built for Equinor and its equipment manufacturing partners, Marmen and Welcon. The Norwegian energy company Equinor is building several wind farms off the coast of Long Island. Port officials said by dropping the grant request, the DOT's Maritime Administration, will no longer hold back the federal permitting process that will now be led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Read the full story at TimesUnion [dot] com.