Montgomery weighs new solar moratorium

By Laura Fitzgerald
Posted 10/17/18

The Montgomery town board proposed a six-month moratorium on all new solar applications.~NEWLINE~~NEWLINE~Town Supervisor Rodney Winchell said the moratorium would give the board time to review its …

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Montgomery weighs new solar moratorium

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The Montgomery town board proposed a six-month moratorium on all new solar applications.

Town Supervisor Rodney Winchell said the moratorium would give the board time to review its 2017 solar law, which allows for utility-scale solar projects in all zoning districts in the town.

Winchell said he is concerned that these solar projects won’t be maintained, and the maintenance will fall to the town.

“I don’t wanna burden the taxpayers because a foreign country wants to come in here and open up a solar project or power station and that really shouldn’t be on the burden of our taxpayers,” Winchell said. “Cell tower sites and stuff like that, we see a lot of these sites that aren’t maintained.”

Winchell said he would like to revise the law so all parties, including the town board, planning board and solar companies, are aware of the expectations of solar projects when they submit their plans to the planning board. The board would seek advice from solar providers, town residents and the planning board to reach an agreement that benefits all parties.

“We gotta get some kind of parameters to say, this is what we expect, with public input, this is what we expect for zoning, maintenance and the PILOT,” Winchell said.

Planning Board Secretary Suzanne Hadden said there are currently three solar projects pending before the planning board, two that have been approved and one that has conditional final approval.

Winchell said he would like to review the details around decommissioning bonds and the Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program.

Under state law the value that a solar farm adds to the land is exempt from property taxes for 15 years, but the land is still taxed as normal. Taxing jurisdictions—the town, county and school—can either opt out of the tax exemption or request a PILOT.

The 2017 solar law states it is the intent of the Town of Montgomery to require a contract for PILOTs for all utility-scale solar facilities.

Currently, the town has no PILOT agreements with any solar projects. Winchell said he wants to put in the law the amount of taxes required for the PILOT.

While decommissioning plans are mentioned in the law, Winchell said he would also like to review the procedures around decommissioning.

Decommissioning is the process through which solar panels are dismantled and the land remediated when a solar project is abandoned. Solar developers can guarantee the availability of funds for system removal through bonds which equal the decommissioning and reclamation costs for the entire system.

The law requires a decommissioning plan as part of the special use permit application. The law requires the decommissioning plan to identify the life of the project, methods and processes for removing all solar energy system and returning the site to its preexisting condition and estimated decommissioning costs, including salvage value.

Several residents have written to the supervisor’s office out of concern for the law. Town resident Dwight Warrington has expressed concern about the effects a utility-scale solar project across from his property has on his property values. He is also concerned about the negative aesthetic impacts and the solar law’s approval of solar facilities in all zoning districts.

“It is obvious by now this law needs changes, and as the public awareness grows, now that facilities are going up, this will be a daily reminder for everyone who drives past the facility, and wonders where the next one will be, maybe their backyard.” Warrington said in a letter to the supervisor.

Warrington also said a commercial enterprise shouldn’t be in residential zoning districts and the Borrego Solar project sits on a 15 percent ridgeline, which is prohibited in the law.

Sam Phelps’ property also borders a proposed solar project. He said while he isn’t opposed to solar, large utility-scale farms shouldn’t be on prime farmland. Instead, solar farms should be restricted to wetlands or marginal soils and new warehouses should be required to include solar in their design plans.

“I think the town should enact a moratorium on all solar farm development in the town until the town can review, rewrite, or make some laws that will protect its citizens, their property values, and the town’s rural character,” Phelps said in a letter to the supervisor.

While there is limited study on the topic, a report from the science and engineering research center Argonne National Laboratory concluded solar facilities have no negative impact on nearby property values. Project Developer for Borrego Solar Systems Michael Doud said the company has received no indication that solar projects have any impact on property values, positive or negative.

Other community members have expressed support for solar projects. Project Attorney for Matrix Solar and Partner at Jacobowitz and Gubits, LLP John Cappello said solar projects supply clean energy, have minimal impacts on the environment and generate jobs. Clean energy is more important now than ever as the impacts of climate change become more severe, Cappello said.

The moratorium would only block future solar applications; it wouldn’t affect current pending or approved projects. The town board will hold a public hearing for the proposed moratorium on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.