Hecate talks solar at Hillsdale meetings

Hecate Energy’s Matt Levin, center, discusses detail of the Shepherd’s Run project with Copake residents who attended an open house on Wednesday, April 3 in Hillsdale.
John Coston
Hecate Energy’s Matt Levin, center, discusses detail of the Shepherd’s Run project with Copake residents who attended an open house on Wednesday, April 3 in Hillsdale.
HILLSDALE — Hecate Energy LLC held two open houses at the Hillsdale Fire Company on Wednesday, April 3 to present details of its upcoming application for a 42 megawatt (MW) solar farm in Copake.
Hecate officials said they expect to submit a permit application to the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) in early June. In February, Hecate’s application for a 60MW solar farm was denied by ORES after the company lost control of 60 acres initially slated as part of the project.
Close to 100 people came to the afternoon and evening sessions to talk to several Hecate project staff and view a roomful of large placard displays of the project.
Matt Levin, the project director, noted that the turnout was encouraging despite the windy and stormy weather that had started to cover roads with icy slush by evening.
Levin explained that the choice of location in Hillsdale was made partly because it is closer to the residents who live nearest to the proposed project at the intersection of Routes 7 and 23 in Copake.
“The 60-day statutory clock to submit the application suggests we’ll file in early June,” Levin said.
Residents looked over brochures that provided an overview of the project and asked the Hecate staff questions.
Some wanted to know “Why here?”
Diane Sullivan, a senior vice president for environment and permitting, explained that reasons behind the selection included landowners who were interested, along with the advantage of being close to a New York State Electric and Gas transmision line.
Others stared at the big poster maps on display and complained that the areas where solar panels will be installed should have been better highlighted.
The Shepherd’s Run solar farm was first proposed to the Town of Copake in 2017 and called for the project to sit on 500 acres. Over the life of the planning, the land area of the project has been reduced. The current plan calls for a footprint of 215 acres with seven fenced-in areas totaling 175 acres.
Hecate pointed out that the 175-acre fenced in area now represents 35% of the original plan. Fenced-in areas house solar panels, inverters, transformers and other facility equipment, according to Hecate.
The company, based in Chicago, has other projects in the works in New York State. In Genesee County in the towns of Elba and East Oakfield, the Cider Run project is expected to encompass at least 2,800 acres straddling a transmission line and will produce 500MW. The project has been permitted.
Another project, the Coeymans Solar Farm, is a 40MW array that will soon come online in Coeymans south of Albany. Sheep grazing, which is part of the plan for Shepherd’s Run, occurs at Coeymans.
A third project in Coxsackie, also south of Albany, called the Greene County Solar Facility has been granted state approval.
Under New York law, projects that aim to produce more than 25MW of alternative energy must obtain approval from the state and that approval is dependent upon opportunities for local input, including a provision for host community benefits.
Habitat for Humanity assisted in the construction and sale of this house at 14 Rudd Pond Road for $392,000.
MILLERTON — Official Dutchess County property transfers for the four months ending in May are fascinating from the sale of the former Presbyterian Church on Main Street for $420,000 to the $300,000 sale of 8.3 acres of the historic Perotti farm for $300,000 where major barn restoration is now underway.
Actively listed properties at the end of July include 14 parcels of land ranging in price from $60,000 for a five-acre lot to six parcels over a million dollars. 15 single family homes are on the market including an $11,750,000 estate on Moadock Road and four village homes for under $500,000.
Residential
14 Rudd Pond Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on .64 acres sale recorded in March for $392,000 to Anthony M. Macagnone.
81 Rudd Pond Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on .45 acres recorded in April for $360,300 to Sara Whitney Laser.
926 Smithfield Road — Historic house and barns on 8.31 acres sale recorded in May for $300,000 to Colonial House & Barn LLC.
5408 Route 22 — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 5.38 acres sale recorded in May for $465,000 to Erich McEnroe.
The former Presbyterian Church on Main Street in the Village of Millerton was purchased in May for $420,000 and then pained grey.Christine Bates
Commercial
1 Smith Court, Village of Millerton — Office building sale recorded in March for $825,000 to OneJohnStreet LLC.
58 Main Street, Village of Millerton — Sale of former church recorded in May for $420,000 to 58 Main Street LLC.
5546 Route 22 — Sale of former restaurant on 2 acres recorded in May for $70,000 to Haithem Oueslati Trustee.
Land
State Line Road (#789358) — Sale recorded of 20.82 acres of vacant residential land in March for $150,000 to Elliott Squared LLC.
148 Morse Hill — Sale recorded of 30.03 acres of vacant productive farm land in 5 parcels in March for $800,000 to Thorne Water LLC.
*Town of North East and Village of Millerton property transfers from March through May not previously reported as sales in The Millerton News are sourced from Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly reports for March through May. Details on property from Dutchess Parcel Access. Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
MILLERTON — Heavy rain brought down trees on Park Avenue, South Center Street and Century Boulevard, causing blackouts across the village on Friday, July 25.
The Millerton Moviehouse cancelled film showings for the afternoon following the outages, as stated in a release sent out to Moviehouse supporters over email Friday afternoon.
Village Clerk Lisa Cope said the downed trees landed on power lines, causing localized blackouts for many village residents and businesses between 3 and 6 p.m. Friday evening.
Central Hudson crews cleared the trees and restored power to the village that evening.