FENNER — Cypress Creek Renewables, a national solar energy company, is making progress in securing a siting permit for Oxbow Hill Solar, a proposed utility-scale solar project to be collocated with the existing 30-megawatt (MW) Fenner Wind Farm.
The proposed project has a capacity of 140 MW, which would supply power to approximately 30,000 households.
All large-scale renewable energy projects 25 MW or larger are required to obtain a siting permit from New York State’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) for new construction or expansion.
In a Jan. 8 press release, Cypress Creek announced that the state determined its permit application to be complete on Nov. 18, 2024. The company anticipates receiving a draft permit from ORES for the project in mid-January 2025.
The press release also announced that the Sierra Club’s New York Atlantic Chapter has officially endorsed the proposed project.
The Sierra Club is a grassroots environmental organization that works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of communities, and protect the Earth’s ecosystems and resources.
“The Sierra Club understands the need for responsibly designed large-scale solar projects to meet the state’s aggressive climate goals,” Keith Silliman, Cypress Creek’s director of regulatory compliance, said in the press release. “They understand the need to avoid, minimize, and mitigate project impacts in a balanced manner, and that’s what we have done with our Oxbow Hill Project.”
According to Cypress Creek, the project earned the club’s endorsement by undergoing a rigorous evaluation to ensure it satisfies the Sierra Club’s commitment to renewable energy in a manner that preserves nature and provides a just transition that respects communities.
The club assessed nine specific substantive areas, including the impact on wetlands and riparian areas, birds and wildlife, and food production and labor. The evaluation also examined Cypress Creek’s community engagement, relationship with the Laborers International Union Local 190, implications for the tax base, broader community benefits of the project, and consultation with the Oneida Nation.
“We are incredibly proud to have another project meet the high standard of the Sierra Club in New York,” Cypress Creek CEO Sarah Slusser said in the press release. “This significant milestone is a result of the care and attention that our team puts into every aspect of the projects that we develop, and we look forward to continuing our work with this great organization in New York and beyond.”
To learn more about Oxbow Hill Solar, visit oxbowhillsolarproject.com.
About Cypress Creek
Cypress Creek Renewables is a leading renewables developer and independent power producer. It develops, finances, owns, and operates utility-scale and distributed solar and energy storage projects across the United States. Since its inception, Cypress Creek has developed 12 gigawatts (GW) of solar and storage projects. It owns more than 2 GW of solar and storage and has a more than 20 GW solar and storage pipeline. Cypress Creek’s leading operations and maintenance services business, Cypress Creek Solutions, operates and maintains more than 4 GW of solar projects for customers across 24 states.
For more information about Cypress Creek, please visit ccrenew.com.