Residents have questions about solar project; Impact on the viewshed is concern

Posted 8/21/12

HORTONVILLE, NY — Richard Winter, CEO of Delaware River Solar and a resident of the Town of Delaware, had planned to present a commercial solar project on Baer Road to the town planning board on …

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Residents have questions about solar project; Impact on the viewshed is concern

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HORTONVILLE, NY — Richard Winter, CEO of Delaware River Solar and a resident of the Town of Delaware, had planned to present a commercial solar project on Baer Road to the town planning board on September 21. But because of the amount of opposition expressed by neighbors, he decided instead to present a plan for a solar project on Hospital Road. He said the project on Hospital Road was less controversial, but it still sparked numerous questions from members of the community.

The project was presented by Stuart Mesinger, a consultant with the Chazen Companies. He said the panels would be located on 7.5 acres of land and would produce 1.75 MW of electricity, which would be sold back into the community.

He said of the panels and the site, “They don’t make noise, they don’t use water, they don’t create waste. A small amount [sic] of trees need to be cleared.” He said the site slopes fairly steeply away from the road, and the view from the road would be blocked by three rows of evergreen trees.

There was a lot of discussion about whether property owners on other roads in the area would be able to see the panels. Mesinger said he believed the view would be blocked from most locations by trees, but he agreed to do further investigation into the question.

One resident said there seems to be an assumption that trees owned by other property owners would block the view of the site, but others would get the benefit.

Mesinger replied, “If they choose to cut all their trees down because they want to see the project, that’s up to them.”

The town planning consultant Tom Shepstone said the intent of the planning board was to “soften” the impact of the panels on the view, not to entirely eliminate it.

Another person asked if there were toxic materials in the panels and what would happen if they started to leak out.

Winter said, “Our panels are silicon-based, so they don’t contain hazardous materials. If the panels underperform, we will see that,” by remote monitoring.

Regarding rain runoff, Mesinger said the New York Department of Environmental Conservation does not consider the panels to be impervious surfaces for storm water management purposes because they don’t generate grease, oil, dust, or dirt—all the things you get in a parking lot. He said the rain that would otherwise be falling directly on the grass falls on the panels first, then on the grass, so the volume of water going onto the ground does not change. He said on steep slopes “stone channels” can be used to manage the water falling from the panels.

At the suggestion of Shepstone, Mesinger agreed to post the entire application for the project online so it can be accessed by the public.

Before the meeting, The River Reporter saw that a resident named Elizabeth Rose had put up a post on a Yahoo group of concerned residents raising more specific concerns about the solar project planned for Baer Road. The post said, “We are all in favor of solar development. It just needs to be done correctly, with the respect and input of all of us in the community. Right now, there seem to be some who are hoping to profit from solar development. We all will profit as consumers and conservators of the environment when we do this right. However, there may be some folks in key positions to allow developers to do as they like because of prior financial arrangements.”

After the meeting, Winter said he was “surprised” at the community response to his solar projects, and said he is working with 25 parcels in Sullivan County. He said he plans to submit the Baer Road project to the planning board next month.

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