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The Lansing Town Board unanimously approved two resolutions in a special meeting Wednesday that authorize Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne to send letters of support for two major solar proposals that could amount to a total of 2,700 acres of solar panels in Lansing and Groton.  The letters will be sent to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in support of sPower (Cayuga Solar) and CS Energy's (Yellow Barn Solar) Renewable Energy Standard (RES) solicitation applications.  If both projects are approved they could potentially generate up to 360 megawatts of electricity.

Both projects seek to take advantage of existing high power lines that connected the now-closed Cayuga Power Plant to NYSEG's electric grid, providing electricity for the state's wholesale electricity market.

On September 9th Cayuga Operating Company's Jerry Goodenough and Douglas Roll brought sPower Senior Manager for Solar Development Michael Farrell to meet the Lansing community Wednesday to outline his company's proposal. Solar panels would be erected on the usable portions of the Cayuga Operating Company's 400 acre lakefront property in the north-west of the Town, and the company plans to negotiate with NYSEG to lease or buy the farm portion of it Bell Station property immediately to the north, as well as landowners to the east for a maximum of 1,400 acres.  The amount of power generated would be between 100MW and 200MW, depending on how much land the company succeeds in obtaining.

Prior to the vote Wednesday CS Energy Development Manager  Mitchell Quine explained the basics of his company's proposal.  About half the project will be located in Lansing north of Peruville Road, connecting to the grid near Van Ostrand and Buck Roads near the Lansing/Groton border.  He estimated the Lansing portion could be between 250 to 600 acres, depending on how land negotiations go.  He said the company is already 'getting some traction' in it s negotiations with landowners.  CS Energy is submitting an application for a 160MW project.

Board members asked Quine about details including the amount of Lansing farmland that might be used, whether the company is considering concurrent agricultural use of the land, plans for decommissioning the solar array after the 25 to 40 year project concludes, and potential benefits to the Town.  Those benefits could come in the form of an outright payment, or potentially benefits to residents and businesses in the form of reduced electricity rates.

Quine said that although New York State is taking jurisdiction of large commercial solar projects, he wants to work with the local town governments and community members on the development of the project through to its decommissioning.

"We don't want to be presenting anything to the State that you haven't already at least looked at and been made aware of. It's going to be the state's regulation that comes down to apply to whatever decommissioning plan we have. As much as we can work with the Town and work with the community as well -- neighbors and locals -- we want to be incorporating as much of that as we can because it is a public facing process and we have a reputation to uphold, trying to be good developers."

Many of the details concerning both proposals are in the very early stages, in part because of ongoing land negotiations, and in part because going forward will require NYSERDA's approval of their applications.

The special meeting was called Wednesday because the NYSERDA application deadline is October 21, and any letters of support from the Town would have to be submitted by that time.  Support from local communities is a key ingredient for considering large solar applications.

The resolution to allow LaVigne to write a letter of support for the Yellow Barn Solar project was quite simple.  The resolution for the sPower letter was more detailed because the advisory committee charged with supporting the conversion of the coal-powered Cayuga Power Plant to a data center powered by renewable energy had forwarded a resolution to the Town Board.

The resolution resolved that the Town formally supports the solar proposal, with the caveat that forested lakefront and steep slope land owned by NYSEG should not be used.  The NYSEG land was to be the location of a nuclear power plant in the late '60s and early '70s that was never realized.  Only the name 'Bell Station' survived that proposal. The Finger Lakes Land Trust and other local interests are hoping that NYSEG and New York State can come to an agreement so the property can become a state forest or park.  In light of Governor Cuomo's New Green Deal that mandates 100 Percent Clean Power by 2040, the resolution says, "We believe the State of New York should be equally excited to make this a reality."

Councilman Joe Wetmore said he wanted to make a change to the resolution, but LaVigne challenged him to recuse himself from the vote on the grounds that his wife is on the advisory committee that drafted the resolution in the first place.  Wetmore said he didn't see a conflict, but LaVigne said the Board should vote on the resolution as-is.

"First of all, when a committee put something together, I think it's very disrespectful when you just want to change it," LaVigne said. "Why have it as an advisory board -- they worked very hard and they all dropped everything (to get it done in time). I personally feel they have addressed the concerns about the environment. I also appreciate the fact that they have also graciously addressed the the forest acreage and the steep slopes. I think that is enough, because the main reason for this meeting is to give support to this product, not to dictate terms."

Both resolutions passed 5-0.

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