Solar projects in Dutchess and Columbia counties have become entangled in legal and regulatory netting that involves a number of issues, including finding a balance between New York state’s decarbonization targets and what residents and towns want in their communities.

In Pine Plains, a group of residents has taken the town to task for granting a special use permit to a New York City group that wants to build a solar plant on farmland near Pulvers Corners. The residents filed their action in New York Supreme Court and the case is set to be heard in Putnam County.

A half-hour’s drive north, in Copake, another project is on ropes. Shepherd’s Run Solar Farm is planned by a Chicago-based firm that wants to build a significantly larger solar facility on farmland along routes 23 and 7. That project is stalled because the company lost control of some the land planned for inclusion from the start, and now the submitted design no longer mirrors real-life feasibility, enabling the town and other residents to enter a motion to quash the project.

Both projects are sited on farmland. One’s fate has landed in New York Supreme Court, the other’s on the desks of an administrative law judge and the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting in Albany.

Both these projects are part of New York state’s plan to achieve 70% renewable electricity by 2030 and 100% emissions-free electricity by 2040. That’s only around the corner, given the way time flies and major construction projects subject to government regulation tend only to crawl along. The goals itself are already aging; they were established by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, a landmark bill passed in 2019 by the New York State Legislature.

As of 2020, more than 25% of New York’s electricity generation came from renewable sources, according to the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority. The U.S. Energy and Information Administration (EIA) reports that in 2022, 51% of power generation in the state came from renewable sources like solar and wind as well as nuclear power. The EIA notes that New York consumes less energy per capita than residents in all but one other state, and that per capita energy-related carbon dioxide emissions are “consistently lower than those of any other state in the nation.”

Getting back to Pine Plains and Copake. Pulvers Corners’ case has bounced from one judge to another — five judges recused themselves — but the case will be heard in Putnam County “at a date to be determined.” While the town of Copake has moved to have the Shepherd’s Run project dismissed, others in the rural hamlet support it, citing last summer’s Canadian wildfire smoke and deluges across the region as evidence of a climate crisis that needs to be addressed.

Today’s rural solar projects fall in a crosshair of the New York State Constitution (Article 14, Section 4), which states on the one hand that “the policy of the state shall be to conserve and protect its natural resources and scenic beauty and encourage the development and improvement of its agricultural lands for the production of food,” and on the other, that this policy “shall include adequate provision for the abatement of air and water pollution.”

In the untangling of these contradictory good intentions, elected judges, volunteer town representatives, state administrators and regular citizens are all playing a part.

Latest News

Fallen trees injure man, destroy fences at dog shelter

Two uprooted locust trees still lie in the yard in front of Animal Farm Foundation’s original kennels where they fell on a fence during a storm on Thursday, June 19.

Nathan Miller

AMENIA — Fallen trees, uprooted and splintered during a thunderstorm, injured a man, destroyed fences and damaged a dog kennel at the Animal Farm Foundation facilities in Bangall.

Isaias Nunez was cleaning along a road on the property with Marco Ortiz, another employee of the dog shelter, when the storm rolled in on the afternoon of Thursday, June 19.

Keep ReadingShow less
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

Keep ReadingShow less
Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit millertonnews.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

Keep ReadingShow less