About the Solar Project

Illinois-based Hecate Energy wants to build a 360-acre, 60-megawatt solar facility near New York State Route 23, Route 7 and Route 11A in Craryville, a hamlet of Copake, NY. This industrial-sized facility will also impact the towns of Hillsdale and Taghkanic, as well as the Taconic Hills Central School District and Copake Lake areas.

We Support Solar

Sensible Solar for Rural New York supports solar energy and the creation of renewable energy resources in the state of New York. We oppose, as does local law, the scale and site of the proposed Shepherd’s Run 360-Acre Utility Scale Solar Project.

Project Overview

Shepherd’s Run 360-Acre Utility-Scale Solar project (equivalent to the size of 378 football fields) is to be built in Craryville, Town of Copake, and abutting Hillsdale, Copake Lake and Taconic Hills Central School.
Despite explicit prohibition, Illinois-based Hecate Energy has chosen to bypass local zoning laws and appeal directly to New York State officials for approval of its proposed industrial-scale solar installation through use of Article 10 and/or the Article 94-c siting process.
In 2017 the Town of Copake – with overwhelming community support, revised the town’s zoning code to explicitly prohibit solar energy systems greater than 10 acres in the Town of Copake, Copake Lake, and the hamlets of Craryville and Copake Falls.
§232-16.2(E)(4)(a)(2) – A utility-scale solar energy system may occupy up to 20 percent of the area of the parcel on which it is located; provided, however, that the area of land used for any such system shall not exceed 10 acres.
Currently 900-acres of farmland, forest and wetlands in the hamlet of Craryville and Town of Copake, and abutting Hillsdale, Copake Lake and Taconic Hills Central School are under consideration for a 200,000 solar panel installation. This industrial-sized solar field will result in loss of valuable natural resources and prime farmland, displacement of wildlife and birds, degradation of rural viewsheds, increased burden on volunteer fire departments, and much more.

Why Craryville/Copake, NY?

The Craryville/Copake, NY site was chosen for reasons that benefit Hecate, not the residents and annual visitors to this part of the Columbia County countryside throughout the year.

Craryville and Copake have an electrical transfer station that has available capacity for solar energy to be processed and distributed so Hecate will not have to build or expand transfer stations that exist in remote, non-residential, rural locations. Also, the 900-acre parcel of land that Hecate needs to purchase is owned by very few landowners, making their acquisition simple and quick.

Hecate’s track record has shown that they will prioritize their own interests over all else. In early 2018 local residents of Greene County, NY became aware that nine utility-scale solar plants had been proposed for the town, including two facilities being sited under Article 10 of the NY Public Service Law. Proposed for an area of over 800 acres of active farmland, Hecate’s 50-MW facility would comprise 185,000 panels covering 400 acres of the site, along with inverters, substations, fencing, security lighting, access roads, and collection/transmission lines. Hecate’s Greene County Solar Facility would have a nameplate capacity of 50 megawatts of energy that wouldn’t even be sold locally.
According to current project maps, panels would be placed directly on wetlands as well as on prime farmland and farmland of statewide importance. The rest of the site includes more wetlands, woods, and habitat for endangered and threatened species. Up to 100 acres of the site might be kept in agricultural production.
All of this land is surrounded by residential and rural residential neighborhoods, with little or no buffering between this enormous facility and nearby residences or roadways. Only the most minimal setbacks are proposed. Some landowners would have arrays located on two or more sides of their properties. The site’s rolling topography makes it particularly difficult to mitigate viewsheds. Hecate acknowledges that not all views can be remediated with installed landscaping.

Alternative Sites

Sensibly Solar of Rural NY supports the building of renewable energy solar fields in areas and at scales where they do not violate Article 10: A utility-scale solar energy system may occupy up to 20 percent of the area of the parcel on which it is located; provided, however, that the area of land used for any such system shall not exceed 10 acres.

Alternative sites for solar fields in New York state include:
• Vast acreage of non-populated areas in New York
• Decommissioned shopping malls
• Abandoned factories and plants

Sensible Solar for Rural New York
P.O. Box 305
Craryville, NY 12521
General inquiries:
info@sensiblesolarny.org
Media inquiries:
media@sensiblesolarny.org