Credit: AdobeStock/CR
Case Dismissed
The Pulvers Corners solar project has beaten back a legal challenge and can now proceed.
A state judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by Preserve Pine Plains, an unincorporated group, and several Pulvers Corners residents that challenged the Pine Plains Planning Board’s approval of the solar energy project south of Route 199 near Prospect Hill Road.
The ruling was issued June 4 by a Putnam County state supreme court judge. The case was heard there because all of the Dutchess County justices recused themselves from the case. The legal challenge was rooted in concerns about environmental impacts and property value depreciation. The petitioners claimed that the Planning Board’s approval process for the solar project was flawed, particularly regarding the State Environmental Quality Review Act and local zoning laws.
“Carson Power is glad to see this petition dismissed,” said Andrew Gordon, director of development at Carson Power. “The Pine Plains Planning Board put forward an immense amount of time and energy in reviewing our application and this decision validates all of the hard work that was put into that effort. We are excited to move the project forward to construction and deliver a reliable, clean, and local energy resource to the Pine Plains community.”
“It validates the hard work and diligence the board members put into their voluntary service to the town over the last year and a half,” said Michael Stabile, chair of the Pine Plains Planning Board. “It also shows the quality of the impartial, expert guidance and advice the board received from our consultants, attorney Warren Replansky, George Schmitt from CPL, and Frank Fish and Sarah Yackel from BFJ Planning.”
Pine Plains Town Supervisor Brian Walsh said, “The Planning Board did an incredible job. They put lots of time in. I give them credit.”
Kathleen Augustine, one of the plaintiffs, told the Herald she and some members of the group are considering an appeal. In its decision, the court found that the Planning Board had adequately identified and addressed relevant environmental concerns and had taken a “hard look” at the potential impacts as required by SEQRA. Justice Anthony R. Molé said that the Planning Board’s determination was neither arbitrary nor capricious, emphasizing the thoroughness of the review process and the rational basis for the negative declaration.
Credit: Lenora Champagne
Meanwhile, in Milan
Another area solar project has already reached completion. Construction of the “Fork in the Road” solar array in Milan was finished in May. Though not near the iconic landmark, the company that initiated the project named it after the former restaurant of that name and the giant fork that marks the intersection of Routes 199 and 308, which lead to Red Hook and Rhinebeck, respectively.
The project, begun in 2019, faced a relatively easy path to approval. The town bought the 80-acre parcel, the former Matecki farm at Route 199 and South Road, in the 1960s. It is the site of the town recreation center, the highway garage, transfer station, and a former landfill. The state closed the landfill but has incentivized towns to locate solar power on landfills or other “brownfields” unsuitable for development. The project, which takes up 6.4 acres of the site, will generate enough energy to power 341 homes, according to Milan Town Supervisor Alfred LoBrutto.
The site’s western border is the Taconic Parkway. Panels will be visible from the parkway in the winter when trees are bare, but will not be visible from residents’ homes, said Milan Town Board Member Jack Campisi.
The array is owned and operated by CleanCapital under a 35-year lease that pays the town more than $40,000 a year. CleanCapital will sell the energy to Central Hudson to serve community solar subscribers. The project will start producing energy later this year.