At the Town Board Meeting on February 4, 2020, the Town Supervisor, Peter Barber, introduced an amendment to the town's zoning code §280-40(U) Solar Energy System to enhance protection of the town and its residents from the potential harm that could come from the siting and decommissioning of large industrial solar arrays (a.k.a. solar farms).
This meeting they will be considering four large-scale solar farms:
Krumkill Road Solar Project - Lands of JL Development, LLC: Requires 2 area variances install two (2) large-scale, ground mounted solar photo-voltaic systems on 61.6 acres located in the Rural Agricultural (RA3) District.
6639 Dunnsville Rd and 6627 Lainhart Rd. - Lands of Altamont Orchards Realty, LLC
Members of the public may listen and participate in the meeting by dialing (701) 802-5362 and enter access code 5580254 to participate in a conference call. A summary of the meeting will be posted on the Town’s website.
The agenda for this meeting was amended on February 3rd to include to introduce an amendment to the town's zoning code §280-40(U) Solar Energy System and to schedule a public hearing for its review.
Section 280-40(U) Solar Energy System is the part of the code that provides for "for the siting, development, and decommissioning of solar energy systems subject to reasonable conditions to reduce potential impacts to adjoining properties while promoting development of renewable energy resources."
The Town Board tentatively set public hearing date for Tuesday, March 3, 2020 for the proposed law and requested that any initial comments be delivered to the town by the Noon on Thursday, February 13, 2020.
They requested these initial comments quickly so they can make any changes as may be required now before the proposed law is sent for reviewed to the Guilderland and Albany County Planning Boards which needs to be done before the public hearing. The Albany County Planning Board actually needs to review the proposal before a public hearing can be held. That public hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
Please send any substantive comments and suggestions on these amendments to each of the Town Board members for their review at the following email addresses.
The Guilderland Coalition for Responsible Growth hosted a Public Forum and Discussion about alternative and renewable energy with a focus on solar farms at the Guilderland Public Library on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.
As we all know, there is increased development in the entire area with respect to Solar Energy as evidenced by what is happening in Guilderland and neighboring towns. Our intent was to openly discuss this topic in an effort to be more educated and aware of various alternatives before they become contentious as they have been for other towns.
The image below is a picture of a slide in Dr. Richard Perez's presentation at the Sensible Solar Summit in Duanesburg held the week before.
