Minoa approves Clemons Road solar farm with contingencies

VILLAGE OF MINOA – After overseeing the continuation of its public hearing regarding project details, the Minoa Village Board has approved the application for the Clemons Road solar farm with the intention of firming up some of its arrangements.
The proposal from Renewable Properties entails a zone change for the 42 acres of land at 5986 Clemons Road from residential-agricultural to a planned development district.
The 2.75-megawatt solar array would extend across 13 acres on the western side of the property.
Though the application passed on Sept. 6, one contingency for the project is the potential relocation of the main access road as Renewable Properties sees fit.
Previously positioned close to the corner at the top of Clemons Road, that primary point of entry was moved to a spot on Baird Street. Deemed by the village engineer and members of the fire department to be safer than the prior option, the current Baird Street entryway still requires the completion of a “hard left turn” on a blind curve according to Mayor Bill Brazill.
Brazill said it remains possible for the solar development to have a designated access point either on a straightaway for vehicles coming northbound off New York State Route 290 or farther down Clemons, right past the house in the middle of the property in question.
Brian Madigan, the energy company’s Maine-based senior permitting manager, said that outside of the construction process there will only be an estimated six trips made a year for maintenance at the site, while Brazill said that even if the access road stays put, the village will incorporate proper safety precautions and signage.
To keep people out of the project area, shield the solar array from view, and meet national electric code requirements, the applicant will set up an agricultural-style fence with mesh around the perimeter.
Madigan said that approach would be less “visually intrusive” and better suited to the solar farm’s surroundings than a chain-link fence with rolls of barbed wire on top.
The present plans call for a staggered row of arrowwood viburnum shrubbery interspaced between fully matured, six-to-eight-feet-tall arborvitae trees.
During the second part of the public hearing first opened on Aug. 8, however, several local residents expressed concerns about deer eating sections of the vegetative buffer, which would be about 35 feet away from the edge of the road. Madigan said he will defer to his company’s landscape architect to make a recommendation for a tree less likely to attract deer.
Another meeting attendee suggested putting the screening on the natural berm located on the property as a way to provide heightened scenic blockage.
Brazill said a contract is still being negotiated between community solar provider Good Energy and Renewable Properties for either an automatically joined program for Minoa residents that they can opt out from or one involving the selling of credits to any interested residents of Onondaga County. Brazill said that even though some may opt out of the upfront program, the choice to stay in would ensure them 10% or more in savings on their electric bill.
For the host community agreement, it has also yet to be decided whether it would be best for the village to receive a one-time lump sum or payments every year for 25 years, but Brazill said that aspect and the rest of the project specifications will be approved by the village board in open session before any construction work commences.
According to Madigan, a stormwater pollution prevention plan prepared by Renewable Properties will ensure that post-construction drainage from the project is less than or equal to pre-construction drainage off the site.
He added that a licensed independent engineer concluded that the creation and operation of the solar facility will not result in environmental contamination or risks of toxicity that would negatively impact public health and safety.
In other news
The Minoa Fire Department has announced its slate of newly appointed line officers. Timothy Visser will be first deputy chief, Trevor Van Auken will be second deputy chief, Rebecca Schermerhorn will be Station 1’s captain, Jeremy DiBello will be captain of Station 2, and David Hess, Dominic Erard and Nick Carulli will be lieutenants.