Ripley Solar Project presentation

A solar project has received its final siting permit to locate in the town of Ripley.

The New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting issued a final siting permit for ConnectGen Chautauqua County LLC’s South Ripley Solar to develop, design, construct, operate, maintain, and decommission a 270-megawatt (MW) solar electric generating facility including a 20 MW battery energy storage system.

The solar facility is expected to generate enough energy to power over 60,000 homes and reduce carbon emissions by over 280,000 metric tons, which is equivalent to taking nearly 65,000 cars off the road.

The facility is expected to provide over $16 million in the first 20 years to the county, town, and school districts in in the form of payment-in-lieu of taxes (PILOT) and host community agreements to invest in infrastructure, additional services, and resources for residents in the communities hosting the facility.

The solar facility is expected to spur about $380 million in capital investment and create over 250 short and long-term jobs.

The decision may be obtained by going to the Office’s website at https://ores.ny.gov/permit-applications.

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.

State Senator George Borrello talks with citizen about fuel costs

With the gas sales tax holiday set to end in less than two months, State Senator George Borrello is expressing concern over increasing gas and diesel prices.

Borrello said in the month of October, diesel prices increased $1.40 a gallon, “Right now, diesel fuel is in short supply. I heard that from several folks yesterday. I was at another place where they transport gas and I was speaking to an over-the-road trucker. In Pennsylvania right now, diesel fuel is over $7 a gallon. Now, that all has a ripple effect. Everything that you buy at a grocery store has to be transported. And everything has to be transported largely by diesel trucks and that means a cost increase for everything.”

Borrello said when sales tax holiday ends, the price per gallon of gas is expected to go up at least 18-cents at the beginning of the year. He said, for now, the tax holiday should be extended until the state figures out a better path.

Borrello said the State Legislature should be looking at how to harness energy sources in the state, “New York is rich with natural gas. New York is the third largest producer of hydro-electric power. We can do more of that. There are many alternatives and even clean, renewable alternatives that just aren’t being explored. We’ve become one trick ponies. It’s all wind and solar. There are many other ways for us to generate power affordably and also in a clean manner as well.”

Borrello added that he believes New York State needs a new energy policy.

BPU Retool ’22 Conference Keynote Speaker Clint Wilder and MC Mike McKay (October 18, 2022)

We’re halfway through the transition to modern energy according to Retool ’22 Conference keynote speaker Clint Wilder.

Wilder is the Editorial Director for CleanEdge which is a developer and publisher of stock indexes tracking clean energy, transportation, water, and the grid.

Speaking at Northwest Arena Tuesday morning, Wilder cited five key drivers that are accelerating the transition from fossil fuel to alternative energies such as wind and solar power. He said the first driver is the dramatically declining costs of solar, wind and battery storage, “We have a major shift in investment dollars from fossil fuels into clean energy. Public support in poll after poll in the U.S., and I’ll have some more information about this, something like 70% of Americans support more resources and policy support for clean energy.”

Wilder said there has been an 85% drop in prices for solar and wind since 2010, which has made it competitive with natural gas.

Wilder said another driver is the development of the smart grid and electrification. He said smart grids support the way energy is digitized and stored, making for more efficient distribution. Wilder cited how California’s smart grid was able to handle a 10-day heatwave with no rolling blackouts as seen in the past.

He said policy support is another driver, seen in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act; and Infrastructure and Jobs Act, “So this is the biggest federal support that we’ve ever seen by far to put resources behind growth of clean energy. It’s something that we advocates in the industry have been calling for, waiting for, for a long time and it’s finally happened.”

Wilder said these policies in the last two years have seen immediate impact with multi-billion dollar manufacturing investments being made in the United States.

The Jamestown BPU’s Retool ’22 Conference continues Wednesday and will feature keynote speaker John Ellis at the Northwest Arena. For more information, visit jamestownbpu.com

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel gave his reaction to the 2022-23 New York State Budget and also his opinions about a then-proposed resolution to cap the county’s sales tax on motor fuel sales, the increased interest by solar companies in the county, and more.

PJ Wendel

The template gives recommendations for developing and, or, updating local municipal laws specific to decommissioning utility-scale solar facilities.

The County’s Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board requested the template be created in order to better protect priority farmland and support agriculture in the county. Some of the concerns the board had in relation to large solar projects included that soils be restored to their original productivity after the lifespan of these projects, and that developers and operators be held responsible for the financial and physical removal of projects.

The Planning Department said the template provides municipal leaders with recommendations based on research, best practices, and guidance documents. The department also developed an online municipal resource mapper. Data layers include municipal boundaries, soil types, transmission lines, wetlands, and more.

The solar decommissioning template and online municipal resource mapper is available on the CCDPD website at https://planningchautauqua.com/resources/municipal-resources/

Ripley Solar Project presentation

The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency has approved incentives for ConnectGen Chautauqua County LLC’s South Ripley solar project.

The 270 megawatt large-scale solar project will be located in South Ripley. The Project will include a 20 MW battery energy storage component.

IDA CEO and Deputy County Executive for Economic Development Mark Geise said, “The built-in certainty of guaranteed revenue made possible by the PILOT and Host Community Agreements will allow Ripley and Chautauqua County to make long-term financial plans, and I’m glad that the CCIDA could assist the Town and ConnectGen in making it a reality.”

Through the PILOT and Host Community Agreements, the project is expected to contribute over $60 million in increased revenue to local taxing jurisdictions including the Town of Ripley, Chautauqua County, the Sherman Central School District, the Ripley Central School District, and the Ripley Volunteer Fire Department over its 30-plus-year lifespan. In addition to the local tax benefits, local landowners are expected to receive more than $30 million in long-term revenue in the form of solar leases, easement agreements, and good neighbor agreements.

The CCIDA Board of Directors unanimously approved a 30-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement, sales tax abatements, and a mortgage recording tax abatement for the project. According to IDA Project Manager Linda Burns, the estimated financial incentive package over the 30-year term is valued at approximately $88 million, while the projected state and regional benefits that are expected to result from the project are estimated at $238 million – a benefit to cost ratio of 3:1.

ConnectGen estimates that construction of the Project will create up to 200 family-wage construction jobs. Once completed, the project will require two to four full time jobs for ongoing monitoring and maintenance.

Geise said many of these are smaller solar projects, “Five megawatts or less except for the ConnectGen project being proposed in South Ripley which is a 270 megawatt solar facility. And we do this for all projects. It’s really up to the municipalities. If they want us to offer incentives, we will, if they don’t, we won’t.”

Sheridan, Chautauqua, town of Dunkirk, and Hanover are other locations where solar companies are looking to do projects. Geise says there is a process these companies have to follow, “There might be zoning issues or site plan review, so it goes through their planning boards and zoning boards. There’s the environment review process as well, so they definitely need local approval.”

Geise says the solar projects have to be near a utility connection and have typically been placed where there isn’t fertile soil. He says the municipality, school, and county benefit from these projects through tax payments, but there are benefits to the landowners as well, “Who enter into long-term leases on their land, so for a lot of these farmers it’s a revenue source and it gives them the ability to obviously maintain their farms through diversification. And then, of course, it helps to satisfy the Governor’s green energy goals.”

Some of the tax incentives that solar companies have sought and been given include payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOTS, mortgage tax rebates, and sales tax rebates.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

WASHINGTON – Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23) has received a national award for supporting legislation that promotes the use of renewable energy.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) recently presented Reed and four other members of Congress with the SEIA Solar Champion Award. The organization says the honor is given to entities or individuals who have helped strengthen solar power in America.

Last week Reed was named as the latest award recipient for working to preserve and extend the federal Solar Investment Tax Credit.

As a result, SEIA estimates that solar jobs will more than double to 420,000 by the end of the decade. In addition, solar power in this nation will more than triple during that time, hitting 100 gigawatts by 2020, enough to power 20 million American homes.

Reed’s energy platform is what he calls an “all of the above” approach, meaning he not only supports renewable energy sources like solar and wind, but also the continuation of fossil fuel usage, including Natural Gas.

Originally airing Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015.

WRFA public affairs director Jason Sample talks with Tom Meara, a local resident who recently installed solar panels on his home. Meara and his wife are believed to be the first BPU residential costumers to install solar panels and send the energy that is connected to the local power grid.

Meara walks us through the process of installing solar panels, from hiring a contractor to install them to receiving rebates from New York State once they’ve been purchased and added to the home. He also talks about the BPU metering system, which allows the BPU to track the amount of power he provides to the grid, which is then deducted from his monthly electric bill.