BARKER — A county lawmaker is calling on the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting to reexamine the location of a portion of the Somerset Solar Project.
In letters sent to AES Clean Energy Development LLC and ORES personnel last week, Niagara County Legislator Shawn Foti raised concerns about parts of the proposed project being sited on “prime farmland.”
“It’s the main concern and complaint from myself and residents,” Foti said Tuesday. “We’re supportive of the project, but we’re not supportive of the destruction of farmland.”
Concerns about the use of some farm land on the south side of Lake Road have persisted throughout the permitting process, particularly as the town’s solar siting law concerns the use of agricultural land for energy generation.
This comes after ORES issued a draft permit to Somerset Solar LLC, a subsidiary of AES Clean Energy Development LLC, for its proposed 125-megawatt solar array on a portion of the 1,800 acres that once hosted Somerset Generation Station.
Foti believes the project application is in violation of New York State law that requires the protection of prime agriculture land and requested further analysis from ORES.
“As I understand it, ORES is mandated to mitigate the use of agricultural land for solar projects and the new state RAPID Act clearly states that such land should not be used unless it is unavoidable. When it comes to the Somerset project, the use of agricultural land is COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE,” Foti wrote in the letter.
AES Development Manager Mario Rice said that the portions of farmland they plan to use for the project are “compatible” with ORES regulations and they plan to integrate agricultural co-utilization practices such as sheep grazing.
“AES is continuing to work closely with ORES on our 94-C application to achieve a project that can meet many of our shared goals for combining land stewardship and clean energy generation,” Rice said, adding, “We believe the Somerset project will be a strong example of how solar projects can continue to preserve the land and generate environmental and economic benefit for the state and Western New York communities.”
The draft permit, dated April 5 notes that Somerset Solar asked for relief from various facets of the Somerset Solar Law. While many of the requested waivers were denied, the company did get partial relief on issues concerning “prime farmland” as well as decommissioning standards set by the town. ORES also said the town’s law on hazardous materials is unreasonably burdensome.
In those cases where relief was granted, ORES said the company could adhere to state guidelines instead.
The town board adopted a resolution in support of “local law mediation” at its business meeting on May 10.
Attorney Alex Vacco, who is representing the town in the state ORES proceedings, previously said the resolution “regards the interpretation of ambiguous provisions in the solar law.”
“ORES has requested that the parties meet and confer to mediate these interpretations of certain provisions. Ultimately it just kind of clears up some of the issues,” he added.
At the meeting, town Supervisor Jeff Dewart acknowledged that while the town intends to challenge the waivers ORES granted to the company, they anticipate the state will ultimately uphold several of them.
“There’s going to be give and take, unfortunately,” Dewart said.
ORES has scheduled a 6 p.m. June 11 public hearing on the Somerset Solar draft permit at the Barker Central School auditorium. Any comments by members of the public will be welcomed then. Lengthier comments should be submitted in writing by 5 p.m. June 14.
The draft permit and supporting documents can be viewed at https://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?Mattercaseno=22-00026.