Cortlandville Town Board Approves Aquifer Protection Permit For Floating Solar Project

The Cortlandville Town Board unanimously approved the aquifer protection permit for Crown City Solar 1, 2, & 3 during their meeting Wednesday night. Town Supervisor Greg Leach abstained from the vote due to a possible conflict. Crown City Solar received their approvals by county planning and the Cortlandville planning board prior to the towns solar moratorium.

The approval comes after the resolution to approve the permit was previously tabled during the town boards October 1st meeting to allow Crown City Solar provide answers on the questions raised by board members in the meeting. Those questions included the fire risk, wildlife impact, and risk to the aquifer.

Crown City Solar looks to construct three floating solar fields on the quarry pond owned by the Suit-Kote Corporation. Suit-Kote, also in attendance during Wednesday’s meeting, voiced their support for the project. Chief Financial Officer for the company, Sam Deeb, provided information to the board of how Suit-Kote was approached by dozens of solar developers and how the company narrowed down their options with the impact on the environment and surrounding area leading to the company selecting Crown City Solar.

Suit-Kote would lease the water and a small land area to Crown City Solar. The three floating solar fields combined will create 14.5 Megawatt AC. Unlike most solar projects, which are developed then sold off, Third Pillar Solar, the parent company to Crown City Solar, would construct and continue to operate them. There will not be any battery storage for this project.

Developers for the project say the panels would be able to withstand winds up to 150 mph and can handle a significant amount of snow/ice load during the winter months, adding they have cold-weather tested the floating panels in Colorado for a different project. Fire risk is also mitigated with the panels designed to partially submerge in the event of a fire. The panels themselves are made from a type of silicone and do not have hazardous materials inside.

Nicole Haghpanah, Development Manager for Third Pillar Solar, says she has been in contact with the Cortlandville Fire Department. Both Third Pillar and Cortlandville Fire will collaborate for on-site training. Cortlandville Chief Biviano in an email to Town Supervisor Leach confirmed the department has been in contact with the company to work on creating site-specific fire training.

Town Board member Sunday Earle, expressed her appreciation for the company providing answers to the town board. It was additionally noted this project will not have any type of energy storage systems.

The project will also be part of the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) Community Solar. Community Solar allows homeowners, renters, businesses, and multifamily buildings access the benefits of solar power without installing panels on their property. Active Community Solar Projects, such as this one proposed, would generate renewable energy on behalf of customers who then see a credit in their monthly electric bills for their share of clean electricity.

The full resolution, including contingencies set forth by the town, can be found HERE.