
Map showing the proposed solar array locations of the Shepherd’s Run solar project.
Map courtesy of Hecate Energy LLC
Map showing the proposed solar array locations of the Shepherd’s Run solar project.
COPAKE — Hecate Energy LLC has filed responses to questions from New York’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting, which earlier this year kicked back the company’s application for a 42-megawatt solar farm as incomplete.
The project has been a topic for townspeople for years, having been first discussed in 2017. Then, it was planned as a 60-megawatt solar farm to be located near the intersection of Routes 23 and 7. But after Hecate lost control of 60 acres that were included in the project, the town sought a dismissal of the application, a motion that was granted in February 2024.
Hecate’s response then was to downscale the project at the same location and refile. On Dec. 23, 2024, it filed but its application was then rebuffed as incomplete with a long list of requested answers. Hecate’s latest filing on May 20 is a response to that ‘incomplete’ decision.
The project has drawn criticism and some support from citizen groups, and statelegislators have questioned it.
Days before the state’s decision, in February, State Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-41, who chairs the Agriculture Committee, and State Assemblymember Didi Barrett, D-106, who chairs the Energy Committee, weighed in with concerns. Mayor Kamal Johnson of Hudson also wrote about that city’s questions regarding the siting of Shepherd’s Run on the watershed of the Taghkanic Creek, which supplies 100% of Hudson’s water supply.
Matt Levine, project manager, said, “After reviewing the notice from ORES from earlier this year, we worked to complete the application.
“As we move forward through the permit review process, we are committed to working with Copake, its residents and ORES to build a project that can help New York State meet its clean energy goals while supporting the economy and preserving the rural character of this special community.
“Shepherd’s Run has already been greatly improved by incorporating feedback from community members along the way, and we look forward to our continued working relationship in the future.”
Hecate’s latest filing, which amounts to more than 80 separate documents, is a response to the state’s detailed list of requests related to the project, which comprises approximately 723 acres.
The state requested additional information related to drawings depicting the extent of tree clearing, fencing and landscaping improvements. More information was requested about public health, safety and security, and about the visual impact of the project, including visual resources that would be affected and visibility from viewpoints. State regulators included requests for informationaboutsolar-glare as well as a lighting plan, and a survey of groundwater wells within 1000 feet of the site.
The state’s list of requests was extensive, and also covered categories such as terrestrial and aquatic ecology, wetlands, agricultural resources, transportation and socioeconomic impacts, as well as electric system effects and information about site restoration and decommissioning.
Town of Copake Supervisor Richard Wolf said the town attorney would review the latest filing and that would include an engineer assessment of the company’s responses.
Sensible Solar for Rural New York a citizen’s group, issued a statement: “There’s no good news in Hecate’s filing.There is still no evacuation plan for the Taconic Hills Schools is there’s a fire, and no commitment to meet NY State’s raw water standard to protect Hudson’s drinking water.In fact, we learned about more negative impacts of this ill-conceived project, such as: project construction will generate 1,500 tons of landfill waste, the new access road to several inverters does indeed go right across a protected waterway in violation of DEC regulations, solar panels are in fact planned for floodplain areas, and Hecate has refused to provide additional landscaping in certain areas, as requested by ORES.The more details we learn about Shepherd’s Run, the stronger we feel that this project is wrong for Copake.”
Friends of Columbia Solar, a citizen group that supports Shepherd’s Run, responded to the new filing with this statement: “We’re pleased that Hecate has hung in there with this project.We hope that ORES will find the application complete and move this project forward to the hearing stage, where we’ll welcome the opportunity to put facts in support of Shepherd’s Run before the public.We remain committed to focusing on the facts and the benefits this solar farm will bring to the community.
Below is a list of what Hecate said last week are major changes in response to community feedback.
—Reduced the fenced area to approximately 175 acres
—Added approximately 11 acres of shrub and tree plantings and revised landscaping to further minimize visual disturbances
—Added an Agrivoltaics Integration Plan that provides for sheep grazing in two of the array areas covering 73 acres
—Removed battery storage from the project scope
—Added extensive native tree and shrub planting to minimize sightlines for neighbors
—Support to extend/connect to local hiking trails or other passive recreational/educational opportunities
—Conducting local fire departments and first responder training
Including pollinator species seed mix within the landscaping plan
—Implementing a Net Conservation Benefit Plan for grassland birds to preserve more than 25 acres of additional habitat
—Incorporating wildlife-friendly rural style fencing instead of chain-link fencing
—Avoiding direct impacts to all state regulated Class I wetlands and developing a project with no net loss of wetlands
—Committing to not source solar panels from suppliers who utilize forced labor or that contain the environmental contaminant PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)
—Providing bidding opportunities to local suppliers and using local labor and purchasing when practicable
—Changing the location of a proposed access road.
Kevin Kelly
“I was exposed to that cutthroat, ‘Yes, chef’ culture. It’s not for me. I don’t want anyone apologizing for who they are or what they love.”— Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly doesn’t call himself a chef; he prefers “cook.” His business, After Hours, based in Great Barrington, operates as what Kelly calls “a restaurant without a home,” a pop-up dining concept that prioritizes collaboration over competition, flexibility over permanence, and accessibility over exclusivity.
Kelly grew up in Great Barrington and has roots in the Southern Berkshires that go back ten generations. He began working in restaurants at age 14. “I started at Allium and was hooked right off the bat,” he said. He worked across the region from Cantina 229 in New Marlborough to The Old Inn on the Green at Jacob’s Pillow before heading to Babson College in Boston to study business. After a few years in Boston kitchens, he returned home to open a restaurant. But the math didn’t work. “The traditional model just didn’t feel financially sustainable,” he said. “So, I took a step back and asked, ‘If that doesn’t work, then what does?’”
The answer became After Hours. Rather than investing in a single location, Kelly partners with various venues and brings the restaurant experience to them. He uses the commercial kitchen at The Thornewood, a former inn turned workforce housing in Great Barrington. “They didn’t really have much use for the commercial kitchen, and I happened to connect with them when they acquired the property. We were actually the first tenant in the building,” said Kelly. Events are usually family-style and rooted in seasonal, local ingredients, sourced from local farms whenever possible including Dancing Greens, Indian Line, Off The Shelf and North Plain.
Since launching in December 2023, After Hours has hosted more than 150 events and partnered with nearly 100 local businesses including Wards Nursery in Great Barrington, Paige’s Place in Otis, Massachusetts, The Berkshire Botanical Garden, and coming up is a summer residency at The White Hart in Salisbury. From multi-course dinners to casual market pop-ups, its model adapts to the space, the moment, and the ingredients. “We design menus based on the venue,” said Kelly. “Whatever the kitchen allows, we make it work.”
Looking for partnerships that are mutually beneficial adds to the community-oriented business model. “Something we always look to curate with events and event partners is finding ways to mutually collaborate on marketing. So, Wards is a great example where they’re really looking to tap into a younger demographic and that’s something we’re able to really bring to the table.”
Now, Kelly is extending the model with a new initiative called The After Hours Supper Club. A subscription-based model, members will receive monthly meals for two or four with seasonally inspired mains, small plates, desserts, and extras. A portion of the proceeds supports Berkshire Bounty, a nonprofit fighting local food insecurity.
The Supper Club is not Kelly’s first collaboration with Berkshire Bounty. Last Thanksgiving, he launched a “buy one, give one” meal kit where one purchased meal equaled one donated to a local family. “Berkshire Bounty is so grateful for the continued support from Kevin and After Hours. Through Kevin’s creativity and care, together we are making an impact on food security in this community and providing nourishing food for the most vulnerable among us,” said Morgan Ovitsky, Executive Director of Berkshire Bounty.The subscription model allows After Hours to extend its reach into homes across the region. “We’ve had strong early interest,” said Kelly. “We’re fulfilling our first orders in June.”
Staffing such a fluid operation is a challenge. To address this, Kelly also created After Hours Gigs, a flexible labor system where people can sign up for one-off shifts. “Most people around here have three or four jobs,” he said. “This lets them pick up a gig with low commitment.” About 15 to 20 people work regularly through the system, but Kelly is often still scrambling to fill roles on busy weekends. With five events in just four days on the calendar, Kelly keeps moving. “It’s a lot,” he said. “But you just do it. One event at a time.”
There is a distinctly anti-macho ethos to his kitchens. “I was exposed to that cutthroat, ‘Yes, chef’ culture. It’s not for me. I don’t want anyone apologizing for who they are or what they love.” When someone asks what to wear to a gig, his response is simple. “Be comfortable. Be presentable. Be yourself.”
What Kelly has built with After Hours is less a brand than a belief that food should be personal, shared, grounded in place and people. So, what’s the most delicious thing he’s made recently? “A white pizza with ramp pesto,” he told me, eyes lighting up. “We’ve started doing Sicilian slices at the farmer’s market. Breakfast pizzas are next.”
For more information, visit: www.afterhoursgb.com
Dee Salomon on what makes a garden a garden.
On June 20 and 21, the Cornwall Library will celebrate its 10th anniversary of Books & Blooms, the two-day celebration of gardens, art, and the rural beauty of Cornwall. This beloved annual benefit features a talk, reception, art exhibit, and self-guided tours of four extraordinary local gardens.
The first Library sponsored garden tour was in June 2010 and featured a talk by Page Dickey, an avid gardener and author. This year’s Books & Blooms will coincide with Ellen Moon’s exhibit “Thinking About Gardens,” a collection of watercolors capturing the quiet spirit of Cornwall’s private gardens. Moon, a weekly storyteller to the first grade at Cornwall Consolidated School and art curator for The Cornwall Library, paints en plein air. Her work investigates what constitutes a garden. In the description of the show, she writes: “there are many sorts...formal, botanical, cottage, vegetable, herb...even a path through the woods is a kind of garden. My current working definition of a garden is a human intervention in the landscape to enhance human appreciation of the landscape.” Also on display are two of her hand-embroidered jackets. One depicts spring’s flowering trees and pollinators. The other, a kimono, was inspired by Yeats’s “The Song of the Wandering Aengus.”
On Friday, June 20 at 5:30 p.m. writer and garden philosopher Dee Salomon will give a talk titled, “What Makes a Garden a Garden?” at Cornwall Town Hall. Beloved for her “Ungardener” column here in our newspapers, Salomon will reflect on the meaning of gardens and their place in the human imagination. The presentation is followed by a festive cocktail reception at the library, with live music by the Crownback Funk Trio, an improvisational blend of funk, blues, and jazz.
Then on Saturday, participants can enjoy self-guided tours of four distinctive Cornwall gardens, each with docents on hand to answer questions. From a terraced Italianate hillside overlooking the Housatonic River to a wild deer-frequented garden brimming with perennials and daffodils, these gardens tell stories of transformation, imagination, and place.
Books & Blooms is a reflection of the Cornwall Library’s vital role in town. “The library really is the central meeting place,” said event organizer Kirk Van Tassel. “People come here for talks, kids’ programs, art exhibits. It’s a cornerstone of community life.”
To purchase tickets, visit cornwalllibrary.org
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