By ADAM ATKINSON

CANTON -- The solar project proposed for the south end of the village at the site of the old drive-in may be moving forward.

Village Mayor Mike Dalton reported to the board at their meeting Monday, Oct. 16, that Tesla, the company planning to install a large solar power array at the 16.6 acre site owned by the village, has stated that the revised design plans for the project are complete and that an environmental study is expected to be completed in November.

Dalton said the company believes that approval of all of the planning and preparations for the project are expected to be finished by this spring.

Construction is expected to begin in June 2018. The original timeline of the project projected a 2016 completion, but original plans required a redesign due to issues at the site.

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 solar array would be constructed by Tesla at the former movie drive-in site now owned by the village, and then interconnected to National Grid distribution lines.

The village could potentially realize a savings of around $1.9 million over a 20-year term under the auspices of a Power Purchase Agreement or PPA, with the company. There would be no upfront cost for the village to have the solar array installed and maintained. In the contract the village would agree to purchase the electricity produced at the site at a fixed rate per kWh for a 20-year term. The village maintains ownership of the lot and licenses SolarCity to install, maintain and access the array.

Under the agreement, the village could pay SolarCity a fixed rate of $0.069/kWh for the power produced 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 the company and this credit is what the village is expected to save on electricity over the 20-year period of the PPA.