TOWN OF LYME, New York (WWNY) – After a contentious couple of years following a town of Lyme Solar farm fire, an agreement has been reached between that farm’s owner, Convergent Energy, and local taxing jurisdictions.
The agreement was discussed at a press conference on Thursday, with Assemblyman Scott Gray laying out the stipulations alongside Convergent Energy’s co-CEO.
The contention had centered around Convergent Energy’s reluctance to pay certain taxes. After the agreement goes into effect, Convergent Energy will pay an HCA, or Host Community agreement, which is similar to a PILOT or Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement.
The company will pay Jefferson County Industrial Development $3500 the per megawatt produced at its solar farm, which will then be doled out to the Town of Lyme and Village of Chaumont.
Additionally, Convergent Energy will compensate the Lyme Central School District with a separate “ECA” or Education Contribution Agreement payment, which will be used to grant students scholarships.
“We’ve seen what this facility can do in terms of requiring resources from the local jurisdiction, so we thought it was necessary that they get adequate compensation,” said Scott Gray.
“It certainly doesn’t hurt to make sure we’re on the same page as the community with these funding needs. I should point out that we have been proposing these solutions going back to 2022, and in a lot of ways, all of the pieces came together now,” said Convergent Energy and Power Co-CEO Johannes Rittershausen.
These agreements won’t go into effect at the same time, but according to Gray they should both be active by mid 2027. They’re going to remain in effect for at least 11 years.
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