Ticonderoga is becoming a hub for harvesting sunshine after the Adirondack Park Agency approved the sixth large-scale solar facility in the town in less than three years, the most permits APA has issued in any town in the park.
The latest project the board approved on Friday is a 5-megawatt solar facility near Old Chilson Road on vacant agricultural land. Pivot Energy plans to install about 11,050 photovoltaic panels on about 24 acres leased from landowner Bruce Crammond. It would provide enough power for about 1,250 New York households, APA staff said.
The town has yet to issue its own approvals. A public hearing on the project is scheduled for 6 p.m. on June 2 at the Community Building’s basement conference room. Town Clerk Tonya Thompson said the hearing will also likely be broadcast online. A link will be posted the night of the hearing on the town’s website. Town Supervisor Mark Wright did not immediately return the Adirondack Explorer’s phone call Friday.
Devan Korn, an environmental program specialist with the APA, said the panels will be surrounded by an 8-foot-tall woven wire fence within which sheep will graze. The town requires a decommissioning plan, and Korn said it is also part of the APA’s permit condition.
Korn showed the APA board photos of the existing landscape, followed by photos with renderings of the solar panels.
APA board member Andrea Hogan asked Korn how many of the five previously approved solar projects have been built. Korn said none so far. The APA issued its first solar permit in the town in the fall of 2020.
Hogan said after the solar panel facilities have been built, she would like to see a photo from the crest of Route 74, “one of the most beautiful views.” She wanted to see the impact of the solar projects.
The latest permit generated three comment letters, none in support. One came from Crown Point resident Joe Kozlina, who said he is pro-solar, but not on farmland or in forests.
“We need all the open lands and forests and ag lands we can get,” Kozlina wrote.
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Tags: adirondack park agency, solar, ticonderoga
Gwen covers environmental policy in the Adirondacks. Contact her at (518) 524-2902 or [email protected] You can also follow her on Twitter, @gwendolynnn1. Sign up for Gwen’s newsletter
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