PERTH — The developer behind Fulton County’s largest locally-approved solar project is exploring the possibility of significantly expanding its wattage capacity.
SunEast Development is currently permitted to run a 19.9-megawatt, 392-acre solar farm along Bishop Road in Perth. The Pennsylvania firm is now taking a look at the feasibility of a separate project exceeding 79 megawatts.
“By doing that, we have no control,” said Perth Planning Board Chairman Ronald Cetnar.
The state Office of Renewable Energy Siting has jurisdiction over any solar project 25 megawatts or larger. Municipal planning boards are allowed to provide feedback, but lack any final say in the snail's pace permit process.
Fulton County senior planner Aaron Enfield at a Perth Planning Board meeting on Monday, March 25, 2024.
Currently, the SunEast Limestone project lies within the 20- to 24.9-megawatt range in Perth, which gives developers the option to seek out a permit through ORES or locally.
Project developer Joe Kirists at a recent Perth Planning Board meeting said that the latest proposal is still in the early stages of development and faces an uncertain path.
“We're still doing our due diligence,” Kirists said. “We think it's viable, but we can't say at this time.”
The 79-plus megawatt project would be on some part of the Skiff farm near the county border, according to county senior planner Aaron Enfield, who is contracted with the town of Perth.
Perth Planning Board Chairman Ron Cetnar at a meeting on Monday, March 25, 2024.
That area has been authorized for SunEast Development’s 20-megawatt project since 2021. The applicant at the time said that it would likely take 12 to 18 months for National Grid to review the feasibility of interconnection.
After numerous delays and numerous long-range special use permit extensions, Kirists during the last meeting said that development is “taking much longer than we originally expected.” He expects to finalize an interconnection agreement by year’s end, get a building permit and start construction in January of 2025.
Planning officials have expressed frustration over the delays and what they believe to be a lack of documentation associated with the project timeline, in addition to concerns over the facility plan’s approval before the town adopted stricter solar regulations.
“The original application that was approved several years ago did not have those provisions,” Enfield said. “Those amendments to the town solar law were put in given concerns that we had on impacts to agricultural soils.”
Opponents of large-scale solar farms argue that development of such facilities takes up too much space, spoils countryside aesthetics and comes with too many known unknowns.
Proponents of the technology say it helps farmers keep their land and remains worth the long-term investment, given the looming threat of climate change.
James Skiff, owner of a property that's home to SunEast Limestone, at a Perth Planning Board meeting on Monday, March 25, 2024.
Solar development is incentivized under the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019. The renewable energy source has doubled in capacity within the last five years as the state strives to make 70% of New York’s electric grid renewable by 2030.
Since 2015, Fulton County municipal boards have reviewed 40 solar projects. The largest state-regulated solar project in Fulton County is the 200-acre Close farm in Mayfield, which is planned to hold 40 megawatts.
The project is being undertaken by Quebec-based Boralex. Construction is expected to begin this year and end in 2025.