Embracing the sunshine

Posted 8/21/12

In some places in Sullivan County, it’s clear that the county is already home to some large-scale solar installations. The one outside the Travis Building in Liberty, NY, which went online in 2012, …

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Embracing the sunshine

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In some places in Sullivan County, it’s clear that the county is already home to some large-scale solar installations. The one outside the Travis Building in Liberty, NY, which went online in 2012, generates 49.9 kW of power with 208 panels.

Another system, which was powered up behind the Sullivan County Community College in 2016, cranks out 2.15 MW of electricity with more than 7,000 panels.

Now, large solar installations on about 10 acres of land are envisioned for properties away from the urbanized center of the county, in the outer towns. Among the municipalities now considering the adoption of zoning ordinances regarding commercial solar farms are the towns of Cochecton, Delaware, Callicoon and Fremont, and the issue is on the agenda in Tusten.

Not too long ago, those same towns and others were weighing the pros and cons of gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, with some, famously, inviting the practice into towns and others specifically banning it.

In the end, the state had the final say, deciding to keep fracking out of the state entirely.

However, just as there were concerns with drilling and fracking, there are also concerns with the 10-acre solar arrays being proposed.

In the Town of Cochecton, Supervisor Gary Maas has invited residents to weigh in on the matter: specifically whether, if solar farms are permitted, they should be restricted from certain areas of town. Residents in this county are keenly aware of the vistas Mother Nature has provided, and it certainly makes sense to mitigate any impacts to the mountain views with reasonable screening requirements.

In the Town of Delaware, Supervisor Ed Sykes has called for a moratorium on the building of solar farms, citing concerns that solar farms can be exempt from property taxes. He said, “I’m not trying to discourage solar, but it’s not fair to carry it on the backs of the town taxpayers.”

But it’s not quite so simple. Municipalities may choose to opt out of the tax abatements provided for solar farms, but doing so would likely drive developers out of a given town. Further, accepting solar farms, even with the tax abatement, will bring in more revenue than blocking them.

The property tax abatement applies only to the improvements made on the parcel of land in question, so the amount of tax paid before the solar farm was created will still be paid to the town. Also, towns have the option of negotiating payment in lieu of taxes or PILOT agreements to boost revenue from the parcel.

For some taxing authorities, such as fire districts, the tax exemption doesn’t apply, and those taxes must be paid. Also, like towns, school districts have the ability to negotiate PILOT agreements with the owner of the farms.

Perhaps most importantly, the type of lease offered by Rich Winter, CEO and owner of Delaware River Solar (DRS), would serve between 250 and 300 households in the community and offer them electricity at a price perhaps 10% less than the price being charged by NYSEG.

Additionally, the abatements would last for 15 years, while the life of a solar installation is 20 years. After that, the facility, which would likely last significantly longer than 20 years based on the experience of other installations, would be decommissioned or turned over to the town based on the town’s wishes at that point.

There are certainly many angles to be considered regarding a zoning update that would allow the installation of solar farms, and they need to be taken seriously. But it seems pretty clear that from a revenue point of view, the towns will be better off financially if they accept them, rather than reject them. It will be interesting to see how the towns handle this. That’s especially true of the Town of Callicoon.

In 2009, four members of the Town of Callicoon’s board turned down $300,000 worth of grants that would have paid to power town buildings with solar. Yet just four years later, they invited the much more polluting and invasive gas drilling industry into the town through an upgraded comprehensive plan, which a survey showed a solid majority of the town opposed.

Solar was a better energy solution then and it still is now.

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