CCIDA CEO and Deputy County Executive of Economic Development Mark Geise said the agency has decided to “pump the brakes” on reviewing new applications, “The primary reason being we’ve got a number of them that are stacked up right now that have not closed. And we want to see some closings on those. I think there’s 21 all together and we’ve closed on four. 21 that we approved and closed on four. So, it’s sort of like let’s get more of those closed.”

Geise said that in a presentation he made before the County Legislature Planning & Economic Development committee, he informed that the 21 projects will create 350 megawatts and consume 2% of the county’s farmland, with the majority of that land being less than optimal soil.

He added that the IDA will still review solar applications but only if “a community pushes hard” for that.