Commenters support landowner, dairy farmer who seeks to sustain business with proposed 40-megawatt array in Mayfield
By Lauren Yates
A public hearing on a proposed 200-acre solar farm in Fulton County, which would be the largest in the Adirondacks if approved, drew a small turnout Tuesday.
Longtime Mayfield farmer Jon Close is applying with solar developer Boralex for permits to build a 40-megawatt solar array – “Foothills Solar” – to keep his 800-acre dairy farm afloat. The panels would cover 200 acres on a plateau just uphill from Great Sacandaga Lake.
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The state Office of Renewable Energy Siting, a relatively new state office that reviews projects proposing more than 25 megawatts, deemed the Foothills Solar application complete in June and published a draft permit for the project in August. Tuesday’s public hearing was the next step in a review process expected to end with ORES’s final decision at the beginning of 2025.
Public comments published so far in the office’s application file for Foothills Solar have expressed concerns over the project’s proposed tree cutting, transformation of agricultural land to a solar farm and solar panel visibility, among others. But on Tuesday, the solar farm netted only positive comments from the five people who spoke during the public hearing attended by around 25 – many were Close’s neighbors, friends and family.
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“It’s been a hard decision to do what we’re going to do,” Close said.
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Close said he started seeking out developers for a solar project a few years ago, anticipating a downturn in his already-struggling dairy business. Dairy farms have been on the decline for decades, with the number of farms with milk sales dropping by almost 40% between 2017 and 2022 alone, from 40,336 farms to 24,470 farms. Close said the price of his milk has stagnated.
He’s already using his farm for several purposes to keep the dairy end alive – farming medical marijuana for edibles, raising beef, growing hay and fresh produce. If the solar project gets approval, Close could be one of the first farmers in the region to combine agricultural uses with renewable energy.
“Our thought is: We love Mayfield, we’ve been here for 150 years, we want to be here another 150, 200 years – and this is our avenue to do it,” Close said. “We don’t want to have to sell our farm; we want to keep going.”
Commenters touted the Close family and their reputation in Mayfield.
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“They’re just great people,” town resident Luigi Lanzi said. “They wouldn’t do anything that is going to hurt the environment here, or Mayfield.”
Absent concerns
Though no comments opposed the project that night, some speakers seemed to address absent concerns.
“Words like silt, clay, mucky and sand” describe the solar farm site’s soil, according to commenter Mary Wendorf, a schoolteacher and Close’s neighbor. Public comments online have opposed Close’s choice to convert agricultural land into a solar farm, an action that’s technically forbidden by town law.
The Foothills Solar application supersedes the Adirondack Park Agency and the local town of Mayfield boards due to its size. While those agencies have received copies of Boralex’s application to the state and provided input, ORES says it reserves the right to bypass local laws if they’re “unreasonably burdensome” in achieving the state’s green energy targets. ORES was created in 2020 to accelerate renewable energy efforts as the state strives toward clean energy benchmarks, like its goal of reaching 70% renewable energy consumption by 2030.
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In the Foothills Solar draft permit, ORES relieves Boralex from adhering to the local agricultural land conversion law, as well as laws regulating building height, setbacks, vegetative screening from adjacent properties and solar panel height, among other exemptions.
Close said soil on the proposed solar site is basically bedrock, though he mentioned in the public hearing he plans to plant vegetables, ornamentals and pollinator plants around the panels after they’re installed. Other parts of the solar farm would be grazed by sheep, Close said.
He also mentioned that Boralax plans to install a pine tree screening around the solar farm that would leave only a portion of the panels visible from Sacandaga Lake. Zachary Hutchins, Boralax’s senior director of public affairs, said that the panels would be built in such a way that “glare isn’t an issue.”
Close said he’s built a personal connection with Hutchins and everyone he’s met from Boralax, and he said the company plans to continue running the solar farm once it’s built.
Tree clearing and covering
Close said he’s been “pestered” about cutting trees down for the project.
The APA submitted a public comment on the Foothills project in June expressing concerns about proposed tree cutting – what first appeared to be around 99 acres of trees cleared, then later in a supplemental application, 48 acres cleared. Close told the Explorer on Tuesday that he had around 25 to 30 acres of forested land on the site.
“The bulk of the land is open farmland,” he said.
Close confirmed that he’s already “thinning out” the proposed project area by logging some trees that are diseased, as well as “good trees” that could be repurposed. He said he’s trying to have discretion instead of sending every tree to the chipper.
The Foothills Solar draft permit states that project construction can’t begin until ORES issues a notice to proceed with construction, though ORES reserves the right to issue a conditional permit to allow project site preparation to begin. James Denn, the state Department of Public Service director of public affairs, said on Wednesday that ORES hadn’t issued Close a conditional permit to begin site preparation and that he was “clearing by his own authority.”
Public comment
ORES is still accepting written public comments on the project through 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1
Comments may be posted on the ORES Permit application portal.
They may also be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission, Empire State Plaza, P-1 South, J-Dock, Albany, NY 12242 (must be postmarked by Friday, Nov. 1). Petitions for party or amicus status may also be made no later than 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 4. Learn more about how to file such requests here.
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