VILLAGE OF MINOA – A proposal awaiting approval from Minoa’s municipal boards is aiming to place a small-scale community solar facility in the village.
According to project manager Brian Madigan, the development headed by Renewable Properties would take up about 13 acres of land on a parcel 42 acres in size. This marks a reduction from the 20-acre buildout diagramed during the energy company’s Sept. 7 pitch to the Minoa Village Board.
“Once we got out there to do the physical delineation, we found that there were more extensive wetlands on-site than we had hoped, so we had to reduce the overall footprint and generating capacity of the project,” Madigan said.
To properly establish this 3.7-megawatt alternating current solar array, Renewable Properties is seeking to pursue a planned development permit for 5986 Clemons Road, a site currently zoned residential A1.
Madigan said the construction would avoid the clearing of trees within the roosting periods for Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat habitats. He also said that problems relating to glare and noise are not anticipated.
“These panels are designed to absorb sunlight, not reflect it, and based on the location of where the transformer would be situated, the noise would dissipate by the time you get to any of the neighboring houses,” Madigan said.
The plan allows local residents to buy or lease part of a shared renewable energy system in order to receive a 10% discount on their monthly utility bills, he added.
“It’s an exciting opportunity to provide a direct benefit to the residents of Minoa at the finer scale and then at the larger scale to be helping New York State in general meet its broader energy goals,” said Madigan, who works out of Portland, Maine, as the senior permitting manager for Renewable Properties.
The San Francisco-based company is currently overseeing other solar plant projects in North Carolina, South Carolina, Minnesota and its native California.
The future of the undertaking planned for Minoa is dependent on when the developers can appear on the village board and planning board agendas for review, with Madigan hoping to reach that point in the timeline within the next three to four months.
