News
Hecate Cider Solar Farm First Application Deemed Complete by ORES Under New York State’s New 94-c Permitting Application Process
500 MW Renewable Energy Facility to Bring Significant Economic Development to Genesee County and Western New York
ELBA, N.Y., Jan. 25,
2022 — Hecate Energy announced today that the
application for its proposed 500-megawatt Cider Solar Farm in the towns of Elba
and Oakfield, New York has been deemed complete by the New York State Office of
Renewable Energy Siting (ORES). If approved by ORES, Cider Solar Farm would be
the largest solar project permitted and constructed to date in the State of New
York.
Established by Section 94-c of Executive Law, ORES is the
newly established state office charged with implementing timely consolidated
review and permitting for major renewable energy facilities in New York State. Its
acceptance of the Cider Solar Farm application is the first time ORES has deemed
a renewable energy application complete.
“This is the first 94-c application to be deemed complete by
ORES, which is a significant milestone for renewable energy in New York,” said Harrison
Luna, Cider Solar Farm’s project developer. “The establishment of ORES and the 94-c
permit process underpins the state’s commitment to support sustainable power,
and we’re fortunate to be in position to use it to bring clean, homegrown
electricity to Genesee County. We are encouraged both by the transparency
brought to the permitting process by ORES and the comprehensiveness of that
process, and we believe this project will be an excellent addition to the next
generation of sustainable power supply in New York State.”
The completed permitting application for Cider Solar Farm
was extensive and comprehensive. It included 6 bound volumes and more than 96,000
pages of detailed analysis of data from studies assessing the proposed
project’s effect on the host communities. Surveys were commissioned regarding a
wide range environmental, cultural, land use, and socioeconomic considerations
such as wetlands and streams, wildlife habitat, nearby traffic patterns, cultural
resources, noise and vibrations, visual effects from nearby areas, site
security and other potential concerns.
If approved by ORES, Cider Solar Farm would be built on
nearly 3,000 acres in the towns of Elba and Oakfield in Genesee County. It is expected to create over 500 construction
jobs and will be capable of supplying 920,000 megawatt-hours of renewable
electricity per year – enough to power over 120,000 average New York
households. Clean energy from Cider Solar Farm is expected to offset 718,694
tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, which according to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is equivalent to the annual emissions
from 141,794 passenger vehicles.
“For years
people have talked about bringing economic development to upstate New York.
This milestone is a very positive sign to other developers who are considering
bringing their investment, jobs and sustainable energy projects to this region,”
said Luna. “The New York State Legislature, Governor Hochul and ORES are to be
commended for following through and making this happen. Together with the
renewable energy industry, we are finally bringing long-term, sustainable
economic development to the upstate region.”
To learn more about Hecate Energy and the proposed Cider
Solar Farm, visit the project website at www.CiderSolarFarm.com.
Or contact Harrison Luna, project developer, at CiderSolar@HecateEnergy.com.
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About Hecate Energy
Headquartered in Chicago, Hecate Energy is a
developer of solar power plants, wind power plants, and energy storage
solutions. Founded in 2012 by a team of energy industry veterans who have
worked together for more than 20 years, Hecate Energy has 40+ GW development
pipeline of projects, including several projects in New York and the Northeastern
United States.