Martin Schmidt, an assistant project manager for C.T. Male Associates, gives an overview of a proposed solar array to members of the Glenville Planning and Zoning Commission.
Martin Schmidt, an assistant project manager for C.T. Male Associates, gives an overview of a proposed solar array to members of the Glenville Planning and Zoning Commission.
Plans for a 5-megawatt community solar facility along Snake Hill Road in Glenville were tabled by town planners Monday over concerns around a property dispute.
The contention centers around an access road that U.S. Light Energy intends to use for entering 107 Snake Hill Road, a 164-acre property where the company is proposing to build a solar array consisting of just over 12,000 panels. A lawyer hired by a neighboring property owner has sent a letter to the Latham-based solar company informing it that the access road belongs to their client.
“This isn’t the town’s problem. This is between you and the adjacent property owner and attorneys to hash out the legal implications or come to an agreement,” said Michael Carr, chair of the town Planning and Zoning Commission. “We certainly don’t want to move on this until this legal stuff gets ironed out.”
Earlier this month, Earl Moon of 109 Snake Hill Road approached the Town Board at a meeting to raise concerns about the proposed solar project that he said uses a portion of his property that he’s invested thousands of dollars to maintain since building his home there in the 1970s.
“I don’t think it’s fair that I put all the money into it all those years and they come and take it away from me,” he said.
Moon also raised concerns about a lack of public water in the Snake Hill area that he says poses a risk if there was ever a fire at the solar facility.
The proposed project has been scrutinized by town officials for several months, including town planners and members of the Environmental Conservation Commission.
Both boards ultimately recommended that lawmakers move forward with creating a solar overlay district for the project — a key step in gaining final site plan approvals.
Unlike some municipalities where proposed solar arrays are scrutinized only by planning boards, Glenville’s solar law calls for projects to be reviewed several times before receiving final approval.
The law also limits the amount of clear cutting that can take place to install an array and requires the green energy systems to be no more than a half-mile from the nearest substation.
A final decision to create a solar overlay district can only be made by the Town Board, a process that requires a public hearing before being approved.
Planners rejected plans last year to construct a 5-megawatt solar array in the area of Van Voast Lane and Sacandaga Road because the project did not conform with requirements laid out in the local law.
Town lawmakers unanimously approved creating the overlay district last month and issued a negative declaration for the project under the state’s Environmental Quality Review Act, a determination that states whether the proposal would have any adverse environmental impacts.
“This application and this proposed solar installation is in accordance and conformance with the town solar overlay district,” Carr said. “Some people they may like it, some people they may not like it, but it is a particular instance that meets the intent of the solar overlay district.”
Plans for the solar array call for clearing 41 acres of the 164-acre site, just under the maximum of 48 acres — or 30% of the total property — allowed under town law.
Fencing will also be installed around 32 acres of the site, which sits less than a half-mile from a National Grid-owned substation, well within the limits set by the town.
Schmidt said the project has been scaled down in recent months, with plans originally calling for 14,000 solar panels.
“Originally, we kind of maxed that out, but we were able to kind of fine tune it and we were able to revise the plans and reduce it a little bit,” Schmidt said.
Alex Burnett, a project manager with U.S. Light Energy, said once completed, energy collected from the array will be sold through a subscription service and could benefit at least 2,500 households per year.
The project comes amid a growing push to bolster renewable energy across New York following the passage of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, a 2019 state law that calls for 100% of electricity in the state to be produced by renewable sources by 2040 and calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 85% of 1990 levels by 2050.
