Solar Project Advances In Town Of Winfield

The Town of Winfield Board met Wednesday evening to discuss new business.

Before the meeting, the Board held a public hearing to discuss the Delaware Solar Project.

Attorney for the Town Chris Baiamonte began the public hearing reviewing the process timeline, concluding with the Town declaring itself the lead agency for the project at the June meeting.

Delaware River Solar representative Matt Mahaley discussed the project's location and size and explained how the project would be eligible for one of two New York state initiatives.

DRS representative Dave Gallo spoke about how the project would tie in to the existing utility system.

Baiamonte said a response from the NYS Ag and Markets Department had no objection to the Town's lead agency status but did insist on their own recommendations.

The Board held a discussion about temporarily disbanding the Zoning Board to approve variances for the project.

Barton & Loguidice offered an engineering review, stating the decommissioning bond amount was lower than expected.

A member of the public asked about the current electrical system's capability to handle the project.

Mahaley said there is an interconnection agreement with NYSEG and the current system would not be overloaded by the project.

A member of the public asked about the life cycle of the project.

The solar farm is expected to run for 25-30 years.

Boardmember Bob Royce asked about the construction equipment affecting soil compaction and the specifics of the panels.

There was a discussion about the tree barrier.

The representative for Barton & Loguidice said the firm completed their initial engineering review of the site plan application with comments.

The Board then moved to their regular business meeting. The Board approved a resolution approving the General Abstracts and Highway Abstracts.

The Board approved a resolution approving the Supervisor's report and the ...