Faced with the possibility of a 785-acre, 50 megawatt solar farm along and beyond its Route 20 Scenic Byway, the Town of Sharon expects to discuss a six-month moratorium on large-scale solar development at its next meeting.
The moratorium would be subject to a public hearing and wouldn’t apply to “backyard” solar projects.
Though it’s the town’s decision—and not the Joint Planning Board’s—Supervisor Sandy Manko asked the JPB to think about the idea when they met Wednesday.
“It’s just an opportunity for us to go over our existing law and make sure it addresses projects of this size,” JPB Chairman Ray Parsons said, referencing the proposal East Point Energy Center of Juno Beach, Florida as NextEra Energy has filed with the state’s Public Service Commission.
Because the NextEra project is “just a letter” so far, there are no legal restrictions on passing the moratorium, attorney Mike West has said.
The Town of Sharon’s solar law was adopted in May 2015 as one of the first in Schoharie County when the technology was new and no one ever thought they’d be looking at something the size of the NextEra project which would be built along Route 20 near Beach, Parsons, and Sharon Hill Roads.
Because of its size—50 megawatts—the project will be approved—or not—by a state Public Service Commission Siting Board through what’s called an Article 10; local input will be limited.
As JPB members discussed the moratorium Wednesday, Lisa Zaccaglini suggested they need to re-think possible decommissioning costs once a project’s out-lived its usefulness.
Estimates by New York State Energy Research & Development put those costs at $98,000 for a relatively small two MW project—like the Birdseye Solar project off the north side of Route 20—to $2 million for a 50 MW project.
Though the town’s solar law requires developers to bond decommissioning costs, planners pointed out that’s not actually real money upfront, but rather a contract with a bonding company to “pay up” down the road.
Ms. Zaccaglini noted the Town of Dryden, near Cortland, is requiring solar projects there to make upfront monthly payments, concerned any bonding company could go out of business or disappear, leaving them to pick up the tab.
JPB member John Rodden Jr. said he wants to make sure the existing law adequately addresses the visual impact of large-scale projects—especially along Route 20, as a designated Scenic Byway, something that means nothing when it comes to land use issues.
“Something that big…it’s like a whole mountain range for people to look at,” he said. “You might as well take those Scenic Byway signs and throw them in the garbage.”
Planners voted unanimously to recommend the town board considers a six-month moratorium at its May 2 meeting.