A solar farm in nearby Ogdensburg. NCTW photo.

BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA — Two companies are planning solar projects in the town of Massena and Brasher, but first the public will have an opportunity to seek further information during public events. 

Boralex, a solar developer, first initiated a proposed 200-megawatt project in 2021. 

That project, known as the Two Rivers Solar Project, would be situated in the towns of Brasher and Massena. 

Officials were on hand for a second public session Sept. 12, answering questions from the public during the three-hour event held at American Legion Post 675 in Winthrop. 

The open house event featured information on the current project area, including results of field studies. 

Officials also detailed an application the company will submit to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES). 

The project, which will include solar arrays, will also require the installation of site roads, electrical interconnection to the power grid and a substation, according to the proposal. 

Officials have said the project will utilize roughly 1,500 acres, though 3,000 acres has been studied to find the most suitable tracts of land. 

According to the proposal, no battery storage structures are part of the project. If officials were to opt to include battery storage facilities, ORES would have to approve them, according to state regulations. 

The project would begin construction in the fourth quarter of 2025, if approved. 

Roughly 150 construction jobs would be created over an 18-month project, the proposal states. 

For more information, visit www.boralex.com/projects/two-rivers.

The Gateway Solar Energy Center, centered in Brasher, Massena and Norfolk, is a proposal by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC. The proposed 180-megawatt project is the second attempt in the last three years by the company to establish a major solar infrastructure project in the town following a failed attempt in 2022. 

A similar, 180-megawatt project planned by NextEra energy was nixed in August 2022 after state officials on the state siting board determined the environmental impact would be extensive and damaging.

In testimony conducted on Nov. 17, 2021, Christopher Balk and Matthew Walter, both of whom are employed by the Department of Environmental Conservation, raised a number of concerns over the project including the impact it would have on the local ecosystem.

Siting board officials listed a number of reasons the project was denied, including negative impacts to wetlands consisting of two-thirds of the project, along with concerns surrounding numerous endangered and threatened species.

Critics also highlighted the possibility of extending a PILOT to 15 years through the IDA, which goes against the norm of a 10-year PILOT other projects have procured in the past.

Critics of the project also showed concern over the lack of permanent job creation after officials revealed temporary construction positions would only last around a year, with less than a dozen full-time staff required to maintain the project after completion.

Despite this, the subsidiary of NextEra is moving forward with another proposal that would see commercial-scale solar arrays, access roads, electrical collection lines and a new substation built in the project area. 

The developer announced during a June 6 public meeting they intended to submit an application to ORES for the project, which was expected to be submitted to the state sometime by the end of August. 

The application was expected to include a number of studies, including some that evaluated the potential impacts to the environment, as well as steps that would be taken to minimize or mitigate those effects. 

As part of the project, officials have said the solar arrays would also include a 230kw switchyard, which would be transferred to the New York Power Authority to own and operate. 

company officials said the project will create hundreds of jobs during the construction phase, generating millions of dollars in new revenue for the towns and school districts where the project will be located, as well as revenue for the county. 

For more information about the proposed project, visit gatewaysolarenergycenter.com.