The Carlisle Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed 20-MW Rock District Solar project Tuesday, December 13, at 7pm.
The discussion will take comments on the project’s site plan, which addresses issues like its visual impact, decommissioning costs, and roads.
The Planning Board will decide whether to accept the site plan—or request modifications; final approval of the Cypress Creek Renewables project will be up to the Town Board.
As proposed, Rock District Solar would be in two towns, 80 percent of it in Carlisle and 20 percent in Seward, said Supervisor John Leavitt.
According to Cypress Creek’s application, total acreage is about 370 acres with the fenced-in portion of the project, including landscaped buffers and all panels, 125 acres.
It will be built on both sides of Brown Road on land owned by Thomas Barbarie of 190 Brown Road; Brown Road is off of Rock District Road, which is off of Route145 at the top of the hill.
The Carlisle Planning Board is serving as lead agency for project review and together, the two towns have hired Steve LeFevre of Barton & Loguidice Engineers and attorney Teressa Bakner of Whiteman Osterman & Hanna to help them with the process.
Mr. Leavitt said he’s pleased with the work his planning Board has done on the project and the amount of work they’ve put into review.
He said he hasn’t heard much opposition to the project—though that could change on the 13th.
“I think people realize it’s going to generate money for the town and the county,” whether it’s through taxes or a PILOT, he said. “It’s important to get out ahead of these things.”
The developers have already approved a $75,000 non-refundable pre-application fee, required under a law adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2020 as a way to compensate towns for their work and expenses.
That law also sets a minimum of $20,000 per megawatt for solar PILOTS—payments in lieu of taxes—money-saving agreements developers often reach with municipalities instead of paying full taxes.
According to the Cypress Creek application:
• Three entry roads will be built off Brown Road for site access.
• The project will include a combination of fixed panels and single tracker panels with a maximum panel height of 12 feet.
• There will be no impact to wetlands and streams; the impact on adjacent DEC wetlands have been minimized with buffers.
Also, Cypress Creek plans to use sheep to graze the area around the panels, something that’s already being done at the Bird’s Eye Solar project off Route 20 in the Town of Sharon.
More information on the project is available at https://ccrenew.com/rock-district/