Dec. 10—The Bear Ridge Solar Project has been awarded the “third leg” of what it needs to stand fully operational, according to Keith Silliman, compliance director for Cypress Creek Renewables.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday that Bear Ridge Solar was among 23 large-scale, land-based renewable energy projects to have contracts approved by the state.
Silliman said the contracts Hochul announced refer to the issuance of energy credits from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, or NYSERDA, which allows the companies to sell electricity.
Silliman briefly described the two other “legs on the three-legged stool.”
One of them is being awarded a permit by the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, or ORES, which the corporation received in July of 2023, but is now in the courts as the Town of Cambria continues to appeal its party status, which would give it more time to assert and justify its own zoning laws.
Silliman said he believed that the ultimate decision by the New York State Court of Appeals would agree with the lower court’s decision to deny the town a chance to defend its own local solar law.
“The appeal is still pending,” Silliman said. “We are waiting for its decision.”
The second “leg” of the project is an agreement with National Grid which Silliman said would hopefully be negotiated in the next month.
Construction of the proposed 88-megawatt utility solar array, which spans more than 900 acres in the towns of Cambria and Pendleton, could begin next year.
Silliman said that he is currently working with the state on the compliance stage of the project, which once done will allow the company to prepare the land for the installation of the solar panels.
“In the near term, there will be discussions for Host Community Agreements and payments-in-lieu-of taxes with the town,” he said, adding that will take place after the town’s appeal has reached a decision.
In Hochul’s press release, it was noted that the 23 projects will provide more than 2.3 gigawatts of clean energy, which will provide power for 700,000 homes.
“The payments under the contracted projects will only begin once projects are constructed and begin delivering renewable energy to New York after obtaining all required permits and approvals,” reads Hochul’s release. “Several projects have already commenced construction activities and all projects are expected to be operational by 2028.”