BARKER — AES Clean Energy Development, LLC, is one step closer to constructing the 125-megawatt Somerset Solar Project on acreage once associated with Somerset Generation Station.
On Monday, the state Office of Renewable Energy Siting, which oversees applications from solar and wind energy development companies, determined that AES’s application for the proposed project is “complete” after submission for the third time in December.
ORES now has 60 days to release a draft siting permit for public comment.
In an interview with the Union-Sun & Journal last month, Somerset town supervisor Jeff Dewart said multiple resubmissions of the application have eased concerns town officials and residents had about the project overall.
“It made a lot of people feel better that they are actually looking at their application and everything to make sure it’s good,” Dewart said.
However, concerns about the use of some farm land on the south side of Lake Road have persisted as AES requested relief from different sections of the Town of Somerset’s solar siting law, particularly as the law concerns the use of agricultural land for energy generation.
“In our application we identified that there were a few local laws that may prove overly burdensome to the success of the project,” AES Development Manager Mario Rice said.
In follow up correspondence with ORES last month, the company said more than half of the 700-acre Somerset Solar Project “includes agricultural fields planted in row crops such as corn, potatoes, and soybeans, and includes vegetable gardens in residential areas.”
In total, the five land parcels involved in the Somerset Solar Project contain 30% to 59% prime farmland.
However, the town solar law allows development only on parcels containing 25% or less prime farmland.
Dewart previously indicated the town does not plan to waver from the terms of its siting law despite these requests.
“That’s what the public wanted. This isn’t a ‘me’ law, we had a committee that put this law together over two years time,” Dewart said.
Rice said that since part of the project will be sited on farmland, AES anticipates integrating agricultural co-utilization practices such as sheep grazing.
He said the company is hoping to have an open house to discuss the project with residents in the spring.
Construction is currently slated to commence in 2025 and the project is expected to be operational by 2027.