New York’s Largest Permitted Solar Facility
Step Forward for Cider Solar and for NY’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting
On July 25, a siting permit was granted for Cider Solar, New York’s largest solar facility to be permitted to date. Cider Solar Farm is a 500-megawatt (MW) facility under development with Hecate Energy in the towns of Elba and Oakfield in Genesee County, NY. It is expected to power more than 125,000 homes and reduce carbon emissions by 462,000 tons each year.
Cider Solar is the first solar project to be permitted by the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) from start to finish. Previously, all electric generating facilities over 25 megawatts (MW) were sited through New York’s Article 10 process. The new process is run by ORES, which was created by the Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act Of 2020. All projects larger than 25 MW now apply for permits through ORES.
As the first project to go through ORES from the start, it’s a good test case for the process. And the results are encouraging: Cider Solar’s process at ORES was 14 months. Hecate Energy filed their Notice of Applicationon May 25, 2021; then filed their application to ORES on June 1, 2021, and ORES approved the permit July 25, 2022. The permit includes specific requirements on standards, decommissioning, and construction compliance.
With this decision by ORES, Hecate is one step closer to bringing a myriad of benefits to the community, including the growth and creation of clean energy jobs, economic benefits of the project, displacement of greenhouse gas emissions, and increased funding source for the local government and schools.
ACE NY and its members are hopeful that the new process will allow for more efficient permitting of renewable energy while adhering to the State’s strong environmental and public health and safety standards. The Cider Solar project receiving its permit in 14 months is certainly reassuring and illustrates that ORES has accelerated permitting of renewable energy facilities in New York.
