BY PAUL MITCHELLNorth Country This Week

CANTON – The EDF Renewables 240-megawatt Rich Road solar project with 20-megawatt battery energy storage system continues its path toward reality following the recent issuance of a draft permit by the Office for Renewable Siting (ORES).

With the permit comes public comment and a public hearing on May 7 at 6 p.m. in the Laurentian Room at the Best Western University Inn, Canton.

Written comments concerning the application and the draft permit conditions must be filed with ORES by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 10,

Persons filing written comments are strongly encouraged to post their comments on the ORES Permit Application Portal (ORES Portal) system. To post a comment, go to https://ores.ny.gov, click on “Permit Applications,” click on Project Permit Application Number 22-00031, and click on “Post Comments” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Written comments may also be emailed to ORES at hearings@ores.ny.gov or mailed to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, Empire State Plaza, P-1 South, J Dock, Albany, NY 12242, according to a legal notice in North Country This Week.

William M. Buchan, the attorney hired by the town and village to handle solar issues, confirmed the issuance of a draft permit dated March 4, 2024.

“The draft permit is available to the public at ORES.ny.gov. Search Matter number 22-00031 on the ORES website to review the Draft permit. The issuance of the Draft Permit opens a 60-day comment period culminating in a public comment hearing before ORES Administrative Law Judges,” noted Buchan.  

Both the Town and Village of Canton will present written Statements of Local Law Compliance to ORES as part of a statutory mandated process. The statements are also due in early May.

Buchan told members of the Canton Town Board Wednesday night that he is working vigorously to meet the submission deadline.

Buchan said the written statement will include views on Canton’s comprehensive plan, existing town code regarding solar projects, battery storage safety, and impacts on agriculture.

“We are working hard to have the best possible statement,” he said.

The public is encouraged to attend the public comment hearing to provide input to ORES.   The issuance of the Draft Permit is a major milestone in the New York State process for siting the Rich Road solar energy project signaling that the applicant has met its burden for meeting the comprehensive set of regulatory requirements issued by ORES that are a prerequisite for a permit to be issued. As a practical matter, the issuance of the Draft Permit makes it more likely than not that a major power plant, as detailed in the Draft Permit, will be sited in Canton.

The Draft Permit, at page 3 states: “The proposed Solar Facility will contribute meaningfully to New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) targets by producing up to 240 MW of renewable solar energy directly to New York’s energy market.  According to the application, the Facility will produce enough zero-emissions energy to power approximately 61,400 households in New York State. The Facility will also create job opportunities, support economic growth, and protect public health, safety and the environment by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

On issuing the draft permit conditions, ORES staff takes the position that the proposed facility, together with the uniform and site-specific standards and conditions contained in the draft permit, would comply with applicable laws and regulations. ORES staff recommends that the Office elect not to apply, in whole or in part, any local law or ordinance that as applied to the facility is unreasonably burdensome in view of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act targets and the environmental benefits of the proposed facility.

EDF’s mission

Jonathan Geldard, project developer Grid Scale Power - NY, said the hearing will have the ORES Hearing Examiners presiding over the session, they will do a brief introduction and then will have a stenographer available to record comments made by the public. The public will have approximately three minutes to provide verbal comments. They can also submit written comments alternatively or to supplement their verbal statement. It is not a Q&A session and the developer will not make a formal presentation, but instead the Hearing is solely an opportunity for the public to put comments on the record for ORES to determine if any substantive issues remain for further review.

“A municipal statement of compliance is the Town’s opportunity in the 94-c siting process to submit for the record their position on how the Facility complies with substantive provisions of applicable local laws and is part of the 94-c Process for every project. In this case, EDF has been engaged with the Town on the local laws, including the recent zoning changes, for well over three years,” said Geldard. “In the 94-c process, substantive standards in local laws are applicable to the Facility as of the date the Application was deemed complete (1/3/2024) and will be applied unless an applicant requests relief for specific provisions and ORES also determines such provisions to be unreasonably burdensome in the context of the overall project and the State’s goals established in the Climate Leadership and Protection Act. In this case, EDF has requested in our Application filed March 2023 that a few local law provisions be waived on a limited basis as was determined collaboratively with Town representatives during the development of the Project in 2022 leading up to our initial application filing.”

In regard to new town code, Geldard said the timing places the EDF project in a “grandfathered” status.

“When ORES deems a project’s 94-c Application as Complete, the record for new information closes to facilitate the progression towards final determinations in the Permit.  The Town adopted their new zoning regulations on February 14, 2024. As the project Application was deemed complete prior to these changes, the permit review and determinations being conducted by ORES have been grandfathered to the zoning laws and regulations that were in effect during the study, design, and collaboration of the project up until that point,” he noted.

Geldard also addresses the continued concerns around battery storage.

“As part of our supplemental application materials provided Sept. 7, 2023, EDFR included robust revisions to both the Site layout and the Safety Response plans including, but not limited to, adding a gravel pad on the BESS Access Road as an emergency response muster point, a 20,000-gallon water storage tank for use by emergency responders, and a Revised Safety Response Plan committing to develop procedures for containment and management of fire protection water used in the event of a BESS fire with use of cleanup kits that contain absorbent materials, booms, and other portable barriers appropriate to contain runoff of fire protection water. This information was also provided directly to the Town and the Fire Chief for their review,” Geldard stated.

“Since performing those modifications, EDFR has been closely following the New York State Inter-Agency Fire Safety Working Group’s recommendation report and will align with the results implemented moving forward, in addition to working with the Town and Fire Departments on these efforts,” he added.