Mayfield solar project leaps hearing hurdle
By Gwendolyn Craig
The largest solar facility ever proposed in the Adirondack Park, a 40-megawatt array near Great Sacandaga Lake in the town of Mayfield, is closer to reality, despite outstanding concerns from local officials.
The state appears poised to approve a permit to Boralex, a Canadian-founded renewable energy company, for the facility that is expected to generate enough power for 10,000 to 12,000 households annually and contribute to the state’s goals of achieving 70% renewable energy power generation by 2030. The project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 21,367 tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to the state’s estimates.
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On Nov. 25, staff with the state Department of Public Service and the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission (ORES), which are overseeing the permit process for solar projects over 25 megawatts, recommended the permit’s approval.
On Dec. 26, Administrative Law Judges John Favreau and Christopher McEney Chan denied the town of Mayfield’s request for an adjudicatory hearing on outstanding issues it had regarding the project. An adjudicatory hearing is the only way to greatly alter the permit application. Favreau and Chan said the town’s request did not meet the standard for such a proceeding.
All that remains is for ORES to issue a final permit, which it must do by June 25.
Should the state issue the permit by that time, Boralex plans to construct the solar array on about 200 acres of the Close brothers’ fifth-generation dairy farm starting at the end of the year and into the end of 2026. The facility could generate electricity by the last quarter of 2026, according to a proposed project schedule.
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Boralex said it “is tremendously proud” in its permitting application.
“Through regular engagement with stakeholders, including the town and the village, we identified and mitigated concerns and worked collaboratively with local leaders to develop a project the community and the state can take pride in,” said Zack Hutchins, spokesman for the company.
Permitting process
The Mayfield solar project is unique in the Adirondack Park, not just by its size but by its permitting process.
The state created ORES in 2020. Its mission “is to consolidate the environmental review and permitting of major renewable energy facilities in New York State into a single forum that provides a coordinated and timely review of siting permit applications.”
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The state requires renewable energy projects 25 megawatts and larger to go through the new permit process, though projects as large as 20 megawatts may also opt for the ORES route.
The review process means other permitting entities’ rules and regulations can ultimately be ignored if ORES and the Department of Public Service believe they are too burdensome.
This Mayfield project, for example, does not have to go before the Adirondack Park Agency, which oversees public and private development in the 6-million-acre park. The APA provided input during the review, but some of its suggestions, such as avoiding the tree clearing of 48 acres, were not incorporated.
Town concerns
The state also granted Boralex exemptions from the town and village of Mayfield’s solar laws. In an attempt to enforce its laws, the town applied for party status with the hope that an administrative law judge would hold an adjudicatory hearing.
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Favreau and Chan, however, did not grant it.
In that petition, the town cited concerns about bypassing its requirements for a year-round vegetative buffer, height restrictions, setbacks and panel materials. A town zoning law also stipulates no solar facilities on “prime agricultural land.” The town also had concerns about the decommissioning process.
ORES staff recommended waivers to the local laws, calling them “unreasonably burdensome in view of the CLCPA (Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act) targets and the environmental benefits of the proposed facility.”
Town Supervisor Brandon Lehr said when the state has an agenda, it takes control.
“Honestly I would rather the state didn’t take all of our jurisdiction away,” he said. “It’s not fair for us because we’re the ones that have to live with it and deal with it.”
Lehr said Boralex “put in a good effort” to make everyone as comfortable with the project as possible, and it addressed some of the screening issues from Great Sacandaga Lake.
He remains concerned about traffic during construction, the state’s allowance that some infrastructure may remain after decommissioning and the kinds of buffer vegetation that appear slower growing.
Fulton County’s Planning Board also wrote comments concerned about the panels’ visibility from Great Sacandaga Lake, “the largest tourist destination within the county.” Boralex responded that what panels might be visible from the lake will be “minimally noticeable” due to the vegetative screening, distance from the lake and the solar panel design.
The state received more than 50 comments on the project, the majority of which were neighbors to the project site, expressing similar concerns.
The Adirondack Council wrote supporting the project’s intent of meeting the state’s climate goals, but cautioned against the cutting “of acres of forests.” “(W)e must remind the applicant and ORES that the Adirondack Park is a unique region of the state, with large intact forests that serve a variety of climate functions–carbon sequestration, water quality support, biodiversity habitat and more,” the council wrote.
Several wrote in support of the project, including New Yorkers for Clean Power.
“There is no bigger threat to our environment, our biodiversity, our wetlands, our farmland, and our physical, mental, and economic well-being than this crisis, caused primarily by burning fossil fuels,” the organization wrote. It called the Mayfield solar project “pollution-free energy from the sun for the betterment of our health, the health of our soils and ecosystem, and a healthier future for generations to come.”
Top image: A map of the proposed 40 megawatt solar project in Mayfield, courtesy of Boralex application records
I am not impressed with solar farms and wind farms. They take up too much land and ruin the landscape.
Vote for liberals and this is what you get.
Another example of the destruction of New York.
Look at California and you’ll see the same in the form of fires.
If the state continues to mandate all renewable energy, there will be many more unsightly, unreliable and ultra expensive solar farms. Then the windmills will move in. There simply isn’t enough real-estate in the state to avoid this fact. The footprint required to power nys will be massive. No jurisdiction will escape this sham. The state will force millions more to flee when residential electric rates hit $1000/month and brownouts will be normal.
“The review process means other permitting entities’ rules and regulations can ultimately be ignored if ORES and the Department of Public Service believe they are too burdensome.
This Mayfield project, for example, does not have to go before the Adirondack Park Agency, which oversees public and private development in the 6-million-acre park. The APA provided input during the review, but some of its suggestions, such as avoiding the tree clearing of 48 acres, were not incorporated. ”
If true, this is indeed disgraceful within the Blue Line. If NYS wants to push the renewable agenda, let them do it outside of the Park – WHERE THE POPULATION LIVES! Within the Park, the APA should be the permitting body.
I would like to know the environmental impact of the transmission lines to the FP as well. This is rarely mentioned.
That’s. 5 acres per house. Is it worth the use of prime farmland sanctioned by a heavy handed NYS agency over ruling local town jurisdiction. NY only cares about pleasing the Greenies. The cost of electricity is skyrocketing and this just fuel to the cost of electricity!