Long-Running Debate Over Ancram Solar Array Is Extended to November

Pushback against RIC Energy’s proposed solar array at the sixth public hearing on the project in as many months prompted the Ancram Planning Board to extend the open debate to its next session on Nov. 6. The consensus was reached at the Sept. 25 special meeting, where the board heard conflicting information about the site’s environmental and visual impact.

Reading from a 63-page document — submitted to the board five hours before the 7 p.m. meeting — attorney Rhea Mallett accused RIC Energy of repeated misstatements in its application and testimony to the Planning Board. Mallett, a partner in the White Plains law firm McCarthy Fingar LLP, was hired by a number of Ancram residents who own property and live near the proposed 9.7-acre solar site off Route 82. She told the Herald that the group she represents is “large and growing,” and that it was premature to share names.

Mallett said that the solar developer “misrepresented the significance of the [project’s] adverse environmental impacts,” and that “the proposed commercial solar array fails to meet the minimum standards required by Ancram’s recently adopted Solar Energy Law, intended to protect the town’s scenic features and rural character. She said that as a result, her clients had to hire their own expert consultant (Harkin Aerial Inc, of Oyster Bay, N.Y.) to conduct a second viewshed analysis for the proposed solar facility. 

Harkin’s report (included in Mallett’s document) stated that RIC Energy’s assessment, prepared by Wendel Companies of Williamsville, N.Y., failed to use cameras and lenses simulating human eyesight, which affected the true visual impact of the solar array. The report said that Wendel’s pictures were taken during full leaf-on conditions, when mature deciduous trees and fields full of mature corn could temporarily mask the site. No photographs were taken during winter leaf-off season, which, the report said, “typically exists through a majority of the year.” Even with vegetation, Harkin found that the solar array could visually impact views from up to 1,400 acres when observed from standing height, and recommended an onsite visual evaluation during winter months, using photographic equipment matching Federal Highway Administration guidelines.

Mallett discussed a variety of other concerns, including the visual impact of utility poles and power lines (which by Ancram solar law must be buried), and the fact that the site would sit on prime, state-certified farmland (a portion of Jim Miller’s 95-acre property). “The loss of this prime farmland for decades must be considered by the Planning Board,” she said.

The public hearing followed an update on the project from RIC Energy’s development director Rob Queirolo. In compliance with the Planning Board’s request at its August meeting, he presented an expanded viewshed map of 14 publicly accessible perspectives (up from four), seen from a 2-mile radius (previously 1-mile). All photographs were taken at eye level. 

“Our assessment was consistent with Ancram’s Town Comprehensive Plan and met all 59 zoning regulations,” Queirolo said. “A key point here is that we only have access to public vantage points, where the visual impacts are minimal to nonexistent. Mature forests, vegetation, and the topography obstruct the view of the array — which is over a mile away from the roads. Even in leaf-off conditions, there wouldn’t be a substantial visual impact.” (RIC Energy has already promised to plant maples, oaks, hemlocks, and pines to block the solar array view from three publicly accessible sites.)

Queirolo admitted that the solar array is visible to nearby million-dollar properties. “I understand that, but New York State case law doesn’t protect a private homeowner’s viewshed,” he told the Herald. “Only contiguous parcels must have landscape mitigation.” Queirolo said only one property abutted the solar site. “We met with the homeowner and provided the landscape screening they asked for,” he said.

According to Queirolo, RIC Energy is burying the power cables from the array to the general entrance, so no utility poles will be visible. He also said that less than one-10th of a percent of Ancram farmland will be affected by the solar project.

Public comments from Ancram residents were mixed. Hillrock Distillery founder Jeff Baker said the solar array would be “eight football fields of glass that forever change the feeling of our town.” Julie Harrison said, “I can see the field when I drive down Route 82. Is this project helping our community?” Janice Miller, Jim’s wife, said, “We were losing money on the land and had to do something. This project will provide power for 200 families, and we’ll still be farming 80 acres.”

The Planning Board’s consultant Nan Stolzenberg advised a review of the site plan submission checklist and all documents before any further decisions. The board voted to engage George M. James, a professional planner, to compare the viewshed assessments; the board will also seek the opinion of a landscape architect.

Planning Board Chairman Joe Crocco later told the Herald, “The board will try to schedule a work session sometime in October to get through all these documents. This is a laborious task, but we’ll get it done — one way or the other.”