By ADAM ATKINSON

CANTON -- The solar farm planned by Tesla/SolarCity for the old Ideal Drive-in theater property at the edge of the village is moving forward.

The village Planning Board reviewed the findings of an environmental assessment and the site plan for the project after a public hearing recently. The assessment determined that the project would have no negative environmental impacts and was approved by the planning board, along with the site plan.

At their meeting Monday, March 19, the village Board of Trustees approved a final version of a Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA, with SolarCity. That agreement will allow the village to realize a savings on utility costs for the municipality estimated to be near $2 million over a 20-year term.

The PPA calls for the village, which owns the lot where the solar farm will be located, to allow the site and operation to be installed and maintained by SolarCity at no cost to the municipality.

Under the agreement, the village could pay SolarCity a fixed rate of $0.075/kWh for power produced during the 20-year contract term and then would get a credit back for the power produced at the site with a remote net meter from National Grid. That credit rate would fluctuate, but in 2015 was around $0.127. The difference between what the village pays National Grid and this credit is what the municipality is expected to save on electricity over the 20-year period of the PPA.

SolarCity will license the lot and the village will maintain ownership of the property.

Construction on the site and installation of photovoltaic panels is slated for late spring. The company was expected to do some site study and prep work at the lot this past week, said village Mayor Mike Dalton at the village board meeting.

The solar array project was first proposed to the village at a board meeting in April 2015 by the company SolarCity Corporation.

SolarCity was acquired by Tesla Energy, Elon Musk’s company, in November 2016. SolarCity was founded by Musk’s cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive. The Canton project, in concept, was not expected to change with Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity.

The original timeline of the plan projected a 2016 completion, but original plans required a redesign due to issues at the site.

The site for the solar farm is about a mile south of Main Street in the village on Gouverneur Street, U.S. Rt. 11.

The 16-acre site was bought for $180,000 by the village of Canton and then annexed into the village boundaries.