Solar power debate

Last summer the Pine Plains Planning Board agreed that the solar project at Pulvers Corners, proposed by Carson Power of New York City, would not create significant harmful impact. That meeting in June was viewed by many as a significant advance for the project. 

But there was more to be done, and more meetings, workshops and hearings to get through. Even after there had been many already.

In the last week of November, the long process came to fruition for Carson Power. The Planning Board, in a 7-0 vote, approved the project. The Planning Board didn’t get to this decision without a lot of hard work and diligence. We commend this all-volunteer body for all its hard work. The resolution approving the project is a testament to its due diligence. Through 22 pages of  “whereas” this and “whereas” that, the Board establishes consideration of dozens and dozens of fact-finding and stipulation matters.

No matter whether you stand “for” or “against” the project, the Planning Board deserves credit for doing its job. Some might consider that it is a model for this kind of project evaluation. 

The members of the Board have faced a persistent opposition to the project, ranging on several issues from its impact on the environment, its fit in the Pine Plains rural countryside, its impact on wildlife and its threat to the pastoral viewshed and real estate values. And more.

While we’re at it, we offer praise to the Planning Board for its transparency and documentation on the town web site. 

Our story on Page A1 by Judith O’Hara Balfe reports on the Board’s decision at its special meeting in the Town Hall. But throughout the year, as we said, the project was the subject of dozens of meetings. Over time Carson Power agreed to stipulation after stipulation — weekly erosion inspection during construction, no herbicides, and much more. Planting pollinator-friendly plants, such as the milkweed preferred by the Monarch butterfly, became part of the agreement. And more, including having the town retain the right to permit a beekeeper to keep bees on the property. 

The day after the Pine Plains Planning Board gave the green light to Carson Power, about 125 concerned residents of Sharon, Connecticut, attended an informational meeting about another, considerably smaller solar project. 

Less than a half an hour drive to the east, the townspeople of Sharon are wrestling with a municipal solar project proposed adjacent to the Sharon Center School. Their late November meeting was a chance to learn about the status of the project — already started down the road — and to explore options that might still be available. See story on Page A2. 

The Sharon project had received initial approval at a town meeting in August, attended by only 14 residents. (The town has 635 residents, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.) With the approval of the dozen-plus residents present, the town signed a power purchase agreement with the Connecticut Green Bank. Preliminary implementation has begun.

But a recent petition carrying 209 signatures requested reconsideration of the project and the scheduling of a town-wide referendum vote, which has now been scheduled by the Board of Selectmen for Friday, Jan. 5. The referendum will decide by “Yes” or “No” vote whether the project may proceed.