Even as the Town of Sharon struggles with the aftermath of the NextEra solar project—mostly roads at this point—there’s yet another project in the pipeline for Sharon Hill.
Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure, with offices in New York City and Ontario, Canada, is proposing a 5MW project on about 15-20 acres of leased and purchased land at Route 20 and Argusville Road, Senior Project Developer Adam Rowles said.
Unlike the 50MW NextEra project, permitted by the state in January 2021, and the 20MW Rock District Solar in the Towns of Carlisle and Seward project, now under review by the state, (see related story) because of its size, the Sharon Hill project will be subject to local review and permitting.
Supervisor Sandy Manko said Friday she has a check in hand from GSI for $50,000--$10,000 per megawatt—for the required escrow to help fund any needed engineering studies or legal advice.
But please, can she get a break?
“Haven’t we done our share?” Ms. Manko asked. “For a community our size, I think we have. Leave us alone. NextEra’s been online for what? Two weeks?”
Actually, four.
In development since 2016, NextEra quietly powered up on May 11.
Still, Ms. Manko said, as much as she doesn’t want another solar project, she’s willing to give GSI and Mr. Rowles the benefit of the doubt--until they prove her wrong.
Mr. Rowles promised GSI runs its company differently than NextEra.
“I think I did a good job,” he said of two GSI projects for a total of 10MW that he was responsible for in the Town of Benton, north of Penn Yan in Yates County in the Finger Lakes, where he said they pay $17,500 annually in community host benefits and $25,000 in taxes.
It’s been so long since the Town of Sharon had a small solar project on the table and the state has rewritten its laws on them so many times that Ms. Manko said she’s no longer certain which ones apply.
But in 2021 and 2022, Schoharie County and the IDA passed resolutions setting a minimum of $20,000 per megawatt for solar—and wind—project PILOT payments, and establishing a $10,000, non-refundable per-MW application fee.
NextEra never sought a PILOT—payment in lieu of taxes and a tax break—because it didn’t need to.
GSI? Maybe.
“He seems to be very receptive to a PILOT,” Ms. Manko said of Mr. Rowles, “and he seemed to be community-oriented,” though, of course, she said, she’s waiting to see.
The next step for Mr. Rowles will be to talk with Code Enforcement Officer Jerry Weiss and the Joint Planning Board, Ms. Manko said.
Mr. Rowles said the exact siting of the project will depend on how successful he is in leasing or purchasing the land he needs, but it will be located on and behind the Falsarella property off Route 20.
He also said the Sharon Hill project would “max out” the National Grid’s Sharon substation; without additional—and expensive—expansion, it won’t be able to handle any more projects.