Cypress Creek Renewables is pulling its proposed Rock District Solar from local Planning Board review--and taking it to the state.
Carlisle Supervisor John Leavitt said Sunday that he’s been notified by attorney Jeff Davis that Cypress Creek intends to file a 94-c application for state review of the 20-MW project.
94-c replaces Article 10, used to permit the 50-MW East Point Energy project in the Town of Sharon; both are intended to fast-track solar and wind.
Mr. Leavitt said he was still waiting for official notification from Cypress Creek and he’s unsure what the switch would do to planned public hearings next Tuesday in Carlisle and March 21st in Seward.
The project, along Brown Road, sits in both towns.
Carlisle’s Planning Board has been serving as lead agency, but both Planning Boards would have needed to approve it.
“I’m inclined to go ahead with ours, just so we can say we did our diligence,” Mr. Leavitt said, “but I really don’t know what happens next.”
Jeanne Gostling, secretary for Schoharie County Citizens Against Solar Assault, said Sunday that she hadn’t yet heard of the switch to 94-c--but her group has already been researching it.
94-c expands the area for SEQR review from one mile to five miles, she said--significant in Carlisle since opponents’ biggest argument is its impact on wells and water because of the nearby porous karst terrain.
94-c allows local agencies to apply for intervenor funds, money that can be used to hire experts to represent them in the review process; CASA has already hired a lawyer.
Seward Supervisor Earlin Rosa predicted in January that Cypress Creek would go the 94-c route—but he said Sunday that time could be on their side.
A court in Western New York ruled Cypress Creek can’t build on 120 acres reserved for shovel-read high tech manufacturing operations in the Town of Cambria, a ruling celebrated for upholding the concept of home rule.
Additionally, a judge has yet to decide on Schoharie County’s lawsuit, filed last March, challenging changes in the state’s assessment formula for solar and wind.
“All of these things are adding up and I think their investors are getting nervous,” Mr. Rosa said.
“We couldn’t have stopped this if we wanted to. But now, 94-c gives us more room to negotiate” PILOTS or other compensation.
“If we’re able to sit down with them and have a frank and honest discussion about what these projects are really worth, if the state is being truthful about the process, we can win and we can win something for other small towns. It’s all about home rule.”
Blenheim Supervisor Don Airey, who chairs supervisors’ Energy Committee, called Cypress Creek’s decision “eminent domain light” and “disingenuous”—especially since it’s already under Planning Board review.
“It tells me a lot about Cypress Creek,” he said.
Mr. Airey helped draft a county law establishing a pre-application fee of at least $25,000 for solar projects and setting a minimum PILOT of $25,000 per MW.
Supervisors also paid for an independent appraisal of the East Point Energy project and have contributed toward some of the other costs.
Mr. Airey said he’d support helping Carlisle and Seward financially if they decide to challenge the Cypress Creek project in court.
“It’s only the taxpayers who’ll benefit,” he said.