BY PAUL MITCHELLNorth Country This Week

CANTON – The EDF Renewables 240-megawatt solar center on the Rich Road in the Town of Canton is closing in on final approval.

Town Supervisor Mary Ann Ashley informed members of the town board on June 12 that findings from a May 9 public hearing on the Rich Road solar project leaned toward the issuance of a final Siting Permit.

“Based on comprehensive review of the Application, Staff respectfully recommends that the proposed Facility, together with the uniform standard conditions, site specific conditions and required compliance filings in the Draft Permit, would comply with Executive Law § 94-c and applicable provisions of the Office’s regulations at 19 NYCRR part 900, and avoid, minimize and/or mitigate, to the maximum extent practicable, potential adverse environmental impacts of the Facility. Accordingly, staff recommends a finding that no substantive and significant issues requiring adjudication have been demonstrated in this case, and further recommends issuance of a final Siting Permit,” a filing on the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) website reads.

Convening the May 9 public comment session were the Honorable Christopher McEneney Chan and Honorable Dawn MacKillop Soller.

Now that comments have been made and replies submitted back, the next step of the ORES process is for the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to review the permit file and case record to make what's called an Issues Determination. In the Issues Determination, the ALJ opines on the comprehensiveness of the Draft Permit and if there are any outstanding substantive issues identified in submitted comments. If any substantive issues are identified, the ALJ will conduct oversight of a formal hearing process to review any specific issues. If the ALJ does not find any substantive issues, then their findings will allow ORES to proceed with Permit issuance.

EDF Renewables’ Project Developer Jonathan Geldard said specific issues still need to be ironed out but was confident the permit process would move forward.

EDF Renewables hopes to be producing electricity sometime in 2027.

“An issued permit will come with many contingent requirements for the Project to satisfy prior to being given approval for construction. So after a permit is issued, the project will continue design and development of associated construction and operation plans for approval from pertinent stakeholders,” he added.

The majority of comments made at the May public hearing were directed to safety issues at the solar center and its 20-megawatt battery energy storage facility.

The Rich Road project is located on more than 1,700 acres along Rt. 11 south, stretching from the Eddy-Pyrites Road toward the village along the Miner Street Road and to the west along the Irish Settlement Road.