Committee Formed To Research Options
And Make Suggestions
Deb Alter
The Hoosick Town Board held an public hearing on Monday, August 24 to discuss the rise of solar farms in the Town. Supervisor Mark Surdam began by making clear that they were only talking about solar farms, not residential solar systems. Originally, a temporary moratorium on solar farms was suggested, but that option is now off the table.
[private]Because green energy technology is growing and changing so quickly, Surdam had suggested at a joint meeting with the Town’s Zoning and Planning Boards in July, that the Town look at the possible consequences of a proliferation of solar farms in Hoosick. “We don’t want to discourage it [solar development], we just want to be responsible and not get overrun,” said Surdam.
Most of those who spoke at the meeting agreed that a moratorium was not the way to go. “It puts out the wrong message,” said John Helft. “It kind of says ‘wait a minute, we’re not sure we want technology in our town,’” he continued. He explained that people and business are looking for locations that are actively working to bring technology to their communities, not keep it out. Tom Vallone felt that putting a temporary hold on building solar farms was a “harsh solution.” “The Zoning Board has to take a close look at the laws and regulations and see what can be done without a moratorium,” he said.
Gary Kjelgaard had done some research about what other municipalities are doing. He listed some of them and gave the list to the Board. The regulations on the list came from different communities and included things like limiting the height, requiring a visual buffer, and limiting the footprint to 50% of the acreage. One thing they all have in their regulations is a decommissioning plan, with a bond requirement to cover the cost of demolition once the panels are no longer operative. This insures that the Town won’t get saddled with the cost of cleaning up an abandoned site. With the current technology, solar panels lose .5% efficiency per year and have about a twenty-year lifespan. However, new technology is constantly being developed to renew older solar equipment and build new equipment that lasts longer.
When the tax incentive expires in 15 to 20 years, the Town Assessor can reassess the property and raise the taxes. There is, however, a flaw in that the panels will have depreciated by then, and owners will use that to keep their taxes low. It was suggested that instead of a tax, the solar developer could be required to pay the Town a fee of a predetermined amount. Kevin Allard said that the Board can end the tax incentive with a resolution in order to protect against the depreciation claims. He also said that the Town should have requirements for the upkeep and upgrading of the equipment.
It was pointed out several times that because of the need for these installations to be in close proximity to a three-phase line and a substation, the number of solar farms will be self limiting. Also, if tax incentives expire, the demand to build solar farms will be diminshed.
James Hoag, chairperson of the Zoning Board said that, when granting a special permit, they always look at the compatibility of the request with the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, the site, and the surrounding environment. Planning Board member Adria Diel agreed that any regulations should be compatible with the Comprehensive Plan. Councilperson Bruce Patire said, “I have total confidence in the Zoning and Planning Boards and the process, so we should let them do their job.” He suggested that it might be a good idea to clarify some things that are missing or unclear in the special permits and the laws that guide the approval process. Helft felt that the Zoning and Planning Boards have what they need. Allard said that relying on special permits is a set-up for a lawsuit and that a set of regulations specifically for solar farms was necessary.
There was also some discussion about the difference between whether solar farms are benefitting Hoosick residents directly, like the proposed solar farm for Hoosick Falls Central Schools, which will save the district (and taxpayers) more than $200,000 a year, and solar farms that send their energy to other places. Some said that, combined with the tax incentives, there is no benefit to the community in those cases. Surdam pointed out that the counter-argument is that when farmers lease their land to the solar companies, they can use those funds to cover their taxes and more, thereby continuing to farm, and that’s a good thing for the town of Hoosick. It’s not direct income for the Town, but it is still beneficial for the community. Larry Bugbee said that even if this green energy doesn’t directly bring the Town income, it helps ease the pressure on the region’s electrical grid, which is another kind of benefit.
Diel suggested forming a committee to look at precedents from other, similar towns and come back to the Boards with recommendations. Town Clerk Susan Stradinger reminded the Board that this situation is very much like the billboard and cell tower issues a few years back. “We worked it out,” she said, “but we needed a committee.” Surdam said that anything that could help the process would be a good thing, and agreed that there should be a committee. Jeff Wysocki (Town Councilperson), Andy Beaty (Zoning Board), Diel and Kjelgaard (Planning Board), and Larry Bugbee volunteered to serve on it. The committee will be charged with the duty of researching the issue and reporting back at the next Town Board meeting.
Surdam ended the meeting, remarking on how productive, informative, open, and important the discussion had been.[/private]