Copake solar project faces additional hearing just one month before final approval deadline

COPAKE — New York State officials this month ordered a hearing to develop a “factual record” regarding a 42-megawatt solar farm proposed near the intersection of Routes 7 and 23 in Craryville, New York.

The hearing is set for Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 10 a.m. at Copake Town Hall. State officials intend to develop a factual record regarding key project issues.

The project, which has faced sustained opposition from the Town of Copake, local residents and state legislators, was first envisioned by Chicago-based Hecate Energy LLC nearly a decade ago. Plans call for solar panels stretched across 215 acres of land in rural Craryville.

Hecate has filed two applications over the years, the first ending in a denial. In January, the state held four in-person public hearings on the second application at Copake Town Hall.

After the hearings, in July, two administrative law judges ruled that the project cannot move forward until its developer obtains a permit from the town to build in a flood zone. The latest decision calling for a “further adjudicatory proceeding” aims to determine compliance with wetland regulations and flood zones, whether major project modifications are needed and whether a permit denial is warranted.

Maureen F. Leary and Dawn MacKillop-Soller, administrative law judges at the New York State Department of Public Service’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission, also called for public comment by Aug. 28.

The Town of Copake has again called for the state to dismiss Hecate’s application, a move that has been supported by three citizen groups: Sensible Solar for Rural New York, the Birch Hill Road Neighbors Association and Craryville Farms LLC, a New York company.

“We’ve got a shot at making some progress,” said Copake Town Supervisor Richard Wolf. “It is mildly encouraging” that the state has called for an adjudicatory hearing, a proceeding that focuses on fact-finding and legal determinations.

The Town of Copake also argues in a motion filed it filed this month that because the state faces a hard deadline of Oct. 8 to approve or reject the application, the process set in motion can’t be completed in time. Also, because expert rebuttal won’t be allowed at the Sept. 8 hearing, the town’s claims that its rights are being deprived.

“This is all becoming a due process issue,” Supervisor Wolf said.