The Lake Communities Alliance (LCA) joins local residents in urging the town boards of Thompson and Forestburgh to deny tax breaks and waivers of local requirements for the Town Line Solar and Battery Energy Storage Project. The project, proposed by RWE Solar Development, would clearcut about 1,200 acres of forest south of Route 17 and west of the Neversink River while offering local residents little in return. 

Large solar projects in New York State are under the authority of the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES). ORES can waive local zoning and apply its own environmental standards. 

LCA president Jessica Lansdale says, “This makes taxes and waivers one of the few places where the community has leverage. Town Line Solar’s profitability should not depend on tax breaks and waivers to local requirements. If it does, then it’s not a good fit for Sullivan County.” 

Little in return for local residents 

The LCA calls it a classic scenario: an economically challenged rural community faces significant ecological destruction to accommodate a massive development project that provides neither cost savings nor tangible, trickle-down benefits to the community.  RWE is requesting a large tax break from the local communities. It is also requesting a waiver of the requirement to remove all infrastructure and restore the land to previous conditions when the project reaches the end of its useful life (or if the site is abandoned for any reason). 

Residential electric customers in Thompson and Forestburgh would receive a small annual bill credit of about $8 to $13 for the first 10 years of the project’s operation. This credit is a New York State incentive for communities that host renewable energy projects. There will be no other cost reductions on electric bills in Thompson and Forestburgh. 

Project by the numbers 

Item: Scale 

Solar array: 200 megawatts

Battery storage: 100 megawatts on about five acres

Forest clearcut: About 1,200 acres 

Solar panels: An estimated 400,000-500,000 units, raised as high as 20 feet 

Wetlands compromised in the footprint: 133 acres 

The wrong location for a massive project 

Providing New York State with renewable energy is a worthy and necessary goal, but it should not come at the expense of ecologically valuable land: 

• A large portion of the footprint sits inside a designated NYS Matrix Forest Block, which is mature and undisturbed forest and field needed for large-animal habitat and breeding. 
• The area ranks in the top 1 percent of Hudson Valley forests for biodiversity, and includes habitat for endangered, threatened and protected species. 
• Clearcutting this terrain risks serious runoff, erosion and flooding into the Neversink River, with unknown effects on the Neversink River Unique Area and downstream. 
• The five acres of lithium-battery storage carries the risk of fire, toxic gases, and contamination of groundwater and surface water.  
• RWE has requested herbicide waivers to maintain the property and to manage the invasive plant species the construction would inevitably introduce. Herbicides will further imperil native species.  

How residents can take action 

1. Submit public comments to the New York State Department of Public Service under Matter Master 24-03035.
2. Attend town board meetings; public comment is encouraged: 

• Thompson Town Hall, 4052 Rte. 42 in Monticello, www.thompsonny.gov/government/agendas-minutes
• Forestburgh Town Hall, 332 King Road, Forestburgh, www.forestburgh.net/boards-and-committees/town-board 

3. Sign the Lake Communities Alliance petition to Stop Town Line Solar at www.c.org/kbCxHXnhNRhttps://c.org/kbCxHXnhNR.

The Lake Communities Alliance is based in Rock Hill, NY. Learn more at www.rhlca.org.