FENNER — Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) assigned by the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) recently issued a ruling on the matter of the application of Oxbow Hill Solar, LLC, for a siting permit to construct and operate a utility-scale project in the Town of Fenner.
The judges determined that the issues raised by the Town of Fenner and Madison County are not “substantive and significant” and therefore do not warrant adjudication.
The formal decision, titled “Ruling of the Administrative Law Judges on Issues and Party Status, and Order of Disposition,” was issued on May 21, 2025.
Because no adjudicatory hearing will be held, ORES will continue processing Oxbow Hill Solar, LLC’s application for a major renewable energy facility siting permit.
All large-scale renewable energy projects 25 megawatts (MW) or larger are required to obtain a siting permit from ORES for new construction or expansion.
Oxbow Hill Solar, LLC — a subsidiary of Cypress Creek Renewables, LLC — seeks to construct a 140-MW solar energy facility to be co-located within the existing footprint of the Fenner Wind Farm.
The project would involve installing and operating photovoltaic panel arrays, as well as associated electrical collection lines, inverters, a new interconnection substation, fencing, access roads, and an operations and maintenance building.
According to the ALJs’ May 21 ruling, the facility would interconnect to the NY electrical grid via a new point of interconnection to the existing Fenner Windfarm Substation, which is connected to National Grid’s Fenner Wind to Whitman Road 115-kV transmission line. The facility site consists of approximately 1,600 acres.
Oxbow Hill Solar submitted its application on April 23, 2024. It was supplemented multiple times before ORES declared it complete on Nov. 18, 2024.
On Jan. 14, 2025, ORES issued a draft siting permit for the facility, which was posted for public comment on the office’s website.
A combined notice was also issued regarding the availability of draft permit conditions, a public comment period, a public comment hearing, and the start of the issues determination procedure.
On Feb. 26, 2025, ORES asked to file an amended draft siting permit. The ALJs agreed and accepted the amended draft permit as filed.
A public hearing was held on March 18, 2025, and the public comment period was closed on March 28, 2025.
On March 31, 2025, the applicant stated its acceptance of the conditions of the amended draft siting permit and that it had not identified any substantive and significant issues requiring litigation.
That same day, the Town of Fenner filed a combined petition for party status and issues for adjudication, along with a statement of compliance with local laws. The town sought to adjudicate several issues, which are detailed in the ALJs’ May 21 ruling.
Madison County also filed a petition for party status and a statement of issues. According to the ruling, the county raised two issues for adjudication.
“The county [objected] to the issuance of a final permit that (1) incorporates any waiver of the Town of Fenner Land Use Regulation as a violation of municipal home rule principles, and (2) does not incorporate a recreational transportation plan that includes snowmobile transit,” the ruling states.
The applicant and ORES staff filed responses on April 21, 2025.
Ultimately, the ALJs determined that neither the town nor the county raised a substantive and significant factual issue requiring adjudication. They also determined that neither the town nor the county identified any legal error or abuses of discretion that would require denial of the siting permit, a major modification to the proposed project, or the imposition of significant permit conditions in addition to those proposed in the draft siting permit. As such, the judges denied the petitions for party status and cancelled all further proceedings in the matter.
“In order to participate in a hearing, the judge would have to grant you party status,” explained Keith Silliman, director of regulatory compliance for Cypress Creek Renewables. “Here, the judges did not find the need to take any issue to a hearing for adjudication. So, there was no need to grant the town or county party status.”
The ruling directs ORES to submit to the ALJs a final written summary and assessment of public comments received during the public comment period on issues not otherwise addressed in the ruling.
“Once the summary and assessment of public comments is submitted, the [ALJs] will forward the draft siting permit to the executive director for execution as the final siting permit,” the ruling concludes.
To view the full “Ruling of the Administrative Law Judges on Issues and Party Status, and Order of Disposition,” as well as other filed documents, search for Oxbow Hill Solar at dps.ny.gov/ores-permit-applications under “Complete Applications Under Review.”
