Ashburnham_Project.JPG
A similar solar array project completed by Vermont-based groSolar in Ashburnham, MA.
(Submitted photo (Jerry Homes))
One of the largest solar farms in Upstate New York is being proposed in Madison County, south of the Oneida's commercial district.
The solar farm would feature 7,000 to 8,000 solar panels -- each one 3-foot by 3-foot -- mounted about eight feet off the ground.
The panels would cover 10 acres or about 7.5 football fields. It would be built on 13 acres of city-owned land south of Route 5 off Deerfield Drive, near Baker Reservoir.
The solar power would be used to provide electricity for city of Oneida government buildings.
The 2.8-megawatt project proposed by Vermont-based groSolar would save the city of Oneida about $100,000 the first year, and up to $6 million over the life of a 25-year contract.
The project would cost the city of Oneida nothing, thanks to a $1.1 million New York State Energy and Research Development Authority grant and federal tax incentives for the developer.
"The savings to the city of Oneida are very desirable,'' said Jon Rauscher, city engineer. "It also meets our sustainability goals, so we can run our buildings off clean energy."
The city signed a power purchase agreement with groSolar, but the project is facing strong opposition from residents near the site. They have filed a lawsuit against the city, said Oneida City Attorney Nadine Bell said.
The existing zoning would allow the projects, city officials said. The group is challenging the process the city underwent in approving the power agreement.
Residents are worried the solar farm will lower their property values. Currently, many properties in the area back up to the wooded city-owned lot that would be replaced with the solar panels.
Residents also complained the city did not adequately tell them about the plans to use the land.
The 25-year agreement allows groSolar to lease the land from the city of Oneida at no cost. The city then gets a reduction in the price it pays for electricity. GroSolar builds the project and pays for the connection with National Grid.
State officials, who have approved funding for the project, refused to release any details of the project including its total price.
NYSERDA officials said a typical 2.8 MW project would cost the developer on average about $7.5 million, and state grants coupled with federal tax credits and depreciation would likely cover more than 50 percent of that.
At a cost of about $3.25 million, a developer can make money on a project like this by selling the electricity back to the municipality or other entities.
In light of neighbors' opposition, groSolar has agreed to evaluate several other sites in the city of Oneida, but officials there say the proposed site is ideal.
"We are trying to be good neighbors and listen to what is being said,'' said Gary Skulnik, spokesman groSolar. "But a new site has to be something we all agree to. A lot of the other sites we've looked at here have wetlands issues."
Solar power
Solar power is becoming big business in New York and nationwide as hefty government incentives prompt more businesses, schools and governments to install solar farms.
"The solar industry is thriving in New York, thanks in large part to the state's incentives,'' said Sean Gallagher, vice president of state affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association, a national trade group.
Solar panels absorb energy from the sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation, which then creates electricity. The electricity produced by the solar modules is direct current, or DC, and an inverter converts this electricity to alternating current, or AC. Most electrical devices run on AC electricity. It then connects into the utility grid, with the utility's permission.
In New York, which is seventh nationally for solar power installations, the number of installations has increased more than 300 percent from 2011 to 2014, twice the rate of U.S. solar growth overall, according to statistics from the governor's office.
In neighboring Oneida Country several projects are planned or underway, including:
Two 2.6 MW projects on Sutliffe road in Oriskany and a 1.9 MW project on Judd Road in Oriskay, all Oneida County government projects;
A 2 MW solar farm In Rome with nearly 10,000 solar panels over four acres of the capped Tannery Road landfill
Another 9,000-panel 2 MW solar farm in the city of Rome on Lamphear Road bordering the former Oneida Correctional Facility.
A 2.8 MW project at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica.
The number of solar projects has tripled, quadrupled or quintupled in every region of the state other than Long Island, which has more installations than any other region, according to NYSERDA. In addition, numbers of projects has at least doubled in every region.
NYSERDA keeps track of larger installed projects approved by the agency.
Under the NY-Sun program, the Cuomo administration has pledged $1 billion to support solar through subsidies to residents, companies, schools, cities and others.
Other completed projects
- The Cornell Snyder Road Solar Farm, a 2 megawatt farm on Cornell property in Lansing was completed in September 2014. It is expected to produce about 1 percent of Cornell's electricity use.
- Rochester Institute of Technology campus has a 2-megawatt farm on six acres with 6,000 panels and powers the equivalent of more than 200 homes a year.
- Constellation recently completed construction of a 9-acre, 2.7 mega-watt solar farm at the Owens Corning insulation plant on Route 32 in Feura Bush.
Other large projects include the Long Island Solar Farm, completed in 2011 and generating 32 MW of electricity -- enough to power over 5,000 New York homes.
Several large retailers in New York have gone solar, including Walmart, Kohl's, Macy's and Target. Anheuser-Busch has installed one of the largest corporate systems in the state with 797 kW of solar capacity at their location in Bronx.
At 5 MW, Eastern Long Island Solar Project is among the largest solar installations in New York. Completed in 2012 by EDF Renewables, this photovoltaic project has enough electric capacity to power more than 800 homes.