JEFFERSON COUNTY, New York (WWNY) – There’s news that more solar projects, covering thousands of acres, could be on the horizon for Jefferson County, and it has officials concerned.
“We’re talking about probably one of the biggest developments in probably the history of Jefferson County,” said Ryan Piche, county administrator.
Piche said there are 16 proposed solar projects in the county. Five of those projects are large-scale solar farms, and would cover around 1,000 acres each, likely using good farmland.
The county is doing what it can to give local municipalities a say in these solar discussions.
For the last two years, the county’s planning and community development department has been gathering data for municipalities, arming them with arguments against projects in their backyards if local officials feel they aren’t a good fit and could negatively affect the area’s character and economy.
“Communities that don’t have that have seen their regulations struck down as arbitrary and capricious. So our job at the county level is to give our communities as much tools and data to make those kinds of strategies around actual data points,” said Hartley Bonisteel Schweitzer, director of the county’s planning and community development.
County officials say they aren’t against solar projects or the state’s clean energy initiative, but worry that local opinion doesn’t always count.
If the state wants the project to meet its goals, a solar farm can get the green light from Albany, bypassing local officials.
“The state has taken away local government’s authority to assess and tax these parcels. The state has created its own assessment model, which shall be applied to solar projects,” Piche said.
Piche said it’s unlikely all of these projects will go forward, but odds are several will. The county’s goal is to get the state to work with and listen to local municipalities.
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