Solar Project moving forward in Shawangunk

By Connor Linskey
Posted 8/11/21

Plans for Magruder Solar, LLC, a proposed large-scale solar energy system on 643 Plains Road in the Town of Shawangunk, are moving forward.

The project is proposed on 203 acres of land and is …

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Solar Project moving forward in Shawangunk

Posted

Plans for Magruder Solar, LLC, a proposed large-scale solar energy system on 643 Plains Road in the Town of Shawangunk, are moving forward.

The project is proposed on 203 acres of land and is being developed by CS Energy. CS Energy operates in 14 states and is in the business of developing, designing, constructing, and financing solar and energy storage projects. The company has installed over 1 gigawatt of solar projects and has an additional 460 megawatts of projects under development.

CS Energy is particularly focused on developing and building solar and energy storage projects in New York State, where they are consistently ranked the top solar company in the state. CS Energy recently opened an office in Albany to further cement its commitment to building out New York’s clean energy future.

Magruder Solar, in particular, is a 5-megawatt community solar project. The project is proposed to be constructed on approximately 20 acres of land in the Town of Shawangunk in Ulster County, where it is currently zoned as a permitted use.

When commercially operational, Magruder Solar will sell discounted electricity directly to residential and small commercial customers via New York’s Community Distributed Generation program. This program enables community solar projects to sell bill credits to customers within the same region as the project so that those customers can lower their electricity costs. All customers must come from within Central Hudson’s service territory, and the project has committed to giving first priority to customers within the Town of Shawangunk and then second priority to Ulster County customers.

Matthew Tripoli, director of project development for CS Energy, told the Shawangunk Planning Board last Tuesday that the company changed its plans to connect to Central Hudson’s system underground.

“We had a lot of questions about the poles that are proposed along that drive,” Tripoli said. “I just thought it would be a good impact compromise position to go to Central Hudson and try to get everything underground to reduce the visual impact of change that would be readily apparent from Plains Road associated with the facilities.”

Tripoli added that his company provided a copy of their application for the aqueduct crossing on the site to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. The reviewer saw it as a pretty pedestrian application from his perspective but does not know for sure until it is completely reviewed.

Tripoli noted that it might take a few months for the DEP to approve the application. The Shawangunk Planning Board unanimously passed a motion to become lead agency for this project. One of their main concerns was that the solar panels would create a glare, obstructing the vision of pilots flying out of the nearby Stewart International Airport. They encouraged Tripoli to tell the airport about the project.

“All you have to do is say this is where we’re putting it. This is the system we’re using. Does it affect you?,” said Planning Board Chair Mark Watkins. “They’ll know what routes that they have.”