SENSIBLE SOLAR FOR RURAL NEW YORK
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    • A beautiful drive soon to be greatly impacted!
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    • SSRNY on WGXC WAVE FARM RADIO
  • Home
  • The Copake Solar Project
    • About the Solar Project
    • Impact on Our Community
    • State and Local Solar Laws
    • Our Letter to Hecate
    • Litigation Against New York State
  • Latest Updates
  • About Us
  • Take Action
    • Letter Writing
  • VIDEOS
    • A beautiful drive soon to be greatly impacted!
    • DYNAMIC MAPPING VIDEO
    • LOCAL RESIDENTS INTERVIEW VIDEO
    • RECORDING OF MARCH 3RD TOWN HALL MEETING
    • SSRNY on WGXC WAVE FARM RADIO
HECATE ENERGY CEO LETTER
Below you will find the letter template for the Hecate Energy CEO.  You can copy and paste the letter into your own email or into a word processing software like Microsoft Word.  You can also click the button below to download the letter directly to your computer.
DOWNLOAD HECATE ENERGY CEO LETTER
Hecate Energy CEO - Chris Bullinger
Email: cbullinger@hecateenergy.com
Mail:

621 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60661

Mr. Chris Bullinger
President and CEO, Hecate Energy
621 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60661
 
Dear Mr. Bullinger,
 
As a resident of [insert town name], I am writing to implore you and your Hecate Energy colleagues to pause submission of your 94-c application for the Shepherd’s Run solar facility proposed for Copake and Craryville, NY.
 
As you may know, a group of organizations and experts was formed in an effort to provide Hecate Energy with thoughtful review and informed recommendations for improving the Shepherd’s Run project. On November 16, 2021, Hecate’s team – including Diane Sullivan and Alex Campbell – made a detailed presentation to the working group, and in the coming weeks, the working group will convene to discuss, consider and advance a set of recommendations that will be presented to Hecate in mid-January.
 
As such, it is critically important that Hecate Energy have the necessary time to consider the working group’s critique and recommendations. More importantly, we encourage you and your colleagues and consultants to incorporate the working group’s recommendations into the final plan for Shepherd’s Run before submitting your 94-c application to the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting.
 
Based on the plans shown to the community at Hecate Energy’s November 30th open house, we are concerned that Hecate’s proposed project would:


  • Locate solar panels almost entirely on high-priority agricultural soils classified by NYS Agricultural Land Classification as Mineral Soils Groups 1-4, in violation of the farmland protection policies of the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets;
  • Cut down 40 acres of forested area, trees and shrubs to locate panels;
  • Surround the entire solar facility with miles of 8-foot chain link fence, which will disrupt wildlife habitats and migration, as well as our rural viewshed;
  • Be poorly screened and landscaped, with inadequate protections to preserve beautiful, highly visible rural viewsheds, and inadequate plans and budgets for maintaining landscaping and screening plantings over the life of the facility;
  • Provide inadequate tax revenues to the Town of Copake, Taconic Hills Central School District and Columbia County, which may well result in a LOSS of revenue after considering declines in assessed value in surrounding properties;
  • Violate Copake’s zoning laws, as well as its Comprehensive Plan and Farmland Protection Plan; 
  • Provide no tangible community benefits to residents of Copake or Columbia County, including specifically no local job creator or access to lower-cost renewable energy from the project.
 
By working collaboratively with the working group, Sensible Solar for Rural New York and the Town of Copake, Hecate Energy can demonstrate its sincerity in being a trusted, invested community partner.

Sincerely,
[your name]



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