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By DIANE VALDEN

COPAKE—The legal fight isn’t over, but score this round to the Land of Rural Charm: Hecate Energy’s Shepherd’s Run Solar Project application has been rejected.

Hecate says it will try again.

February 6, New York State Office for Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) Executive Director Houtan Moaveni granted the Town of Copake’s motion to dismiss and denied Hecate Energy’s application for the controversial Shepherd’s Run Solar Project in Craryville. In doing so, Mr. Moaveni reversed Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Maureen F. Leary’s January 4 oral ruling to deny Copake’s motion to dismiss the siting permit application of Hecate Energy Columbia County 1 LLC.

Executive Director Moaveni dismissed the application to construct a 60-megawatt (MW) solar facility without prejudice to the applicant’s submission of a new application for a modified facility in accordance with regulations.

The application dismissal comes because about 60 acres of farmland, formerly owned by Main Farm LLC, a parcel that was supposed to be part of the Shepherd’s Run project, was sold to Craryville Farms LLC and the new property owner doesn’t want anything to do with Hecate or its solar facility. The attorney for the town argued that the Shepherd’s Run solar project as proposed in Hecate’s application is no longer feasible. The loss of the property requires Hecate to redesign the project.

The town broke the news of the sale in its January 2 motion to dismiss the Shepherd’s Run application. Hecate Energy did not notify ORES or anyone else about losing the lease option on the land or the land sale.

Mr. Moaveni wrote in his decision that the town succeeded in “showing that the applicant has irrevocably lost control of the Main parcel, which comprised approximately 20% of the project footprint and on which many facility components were proposed to be located. Those facility components include solar panels, a laydown area, and the sole access road for not only the Main parcel, but also for two adjacent facility parcels on which solar panels are proposed to be located. Moreover, the town has shown that the loss of the Main parcel necessitates amendments to the application that are not authorized at this point in the proceeding…”

According to references within the 39-page executive director’s February 6 decision, Hecate “asserts that it has been analyzing the impact of the loss of the subject parcel to the project, and is developing an updated layout and plan for construction reflecting a reduced project footprint with decreased identified adverse environmental impacts.”

Also in the decision, Hecate indicates that within the next 60 days it anticipates submitting a supplement to its application to remove the Main parcel “from the project footprint, and make associated and necessary adjustments to the project proposal, maps, figures, impacts and benefits.” Hecate indicates that its supplement will include a new project layout that does not “relocate the panels or other project components that have been proposed on the Main parcel, or otherwise change the layout on existing project parcels, except for the use of an existing farm drive and security fence on the parcel adjacent to the Main parcel as necessary to exclude the former Main parcel from the project.”

In Hecate’s new proposal, the facility’s generating capacity would be reduced from 60 MW to approximately 42 MW, the project footprint would be reduced from 267 acres to approximately 215 acres, new access roads would be reduced from 2.5 to approximately 2 miles, and project impacts to forest and agricultural lands, and visual impact are anticipated to decrease.

ORES had already issued a Notice of Complete Application (NOCA) August 25, 2023 and a draft permit October 24, 2023. ORES regulations do not allow application amendments after the NOCA is issued regardless of whether the amendments are considered major or minor.

In its now denied application, Hecate Energy, a Chicago-based developer of solar and wind facilities and energy storage projects, had applied to construct a 60-megawatt (MW) solar facility east of the Taconic Hills School District and north of Copake Lake in and around the Copake hamlet of Craryville. Hecate proposed to erect nearly 200,000 solar panels on about 228 acres of an 880-acre total project area. Much of the acreage is prime agricultural land. A school district campus and residential areas border the property.

The industrial-scale project is not permitted under Copake Zoning Law, yet it was in the midst of the application/permitting process because Hecate has bypassed local law and is seeking site approval from ORES under the state’s streamlined siting process for renewable energy projects, known as 94-c.

Asked for comment on the latest legal development, Copake Town Supervisor Richard Wolf told The Columbia Paper by phone: “The ORES decision is welcome. The executive director has vindicated the state’s siting regulations by writing that Hecate’s failure to secure land rights to all the parcels upon which it proposed to build and operate Shepherd’s Run was fatal to its application.

“[The ORES executive director] noted that ‘departing from the [ORES] process to address Hecate’s own mistake is unsupportable as a matter of law…’

“This is not over. We expect Hecate to submit a new application for a smaller facility—42 MW. We hope that this time Hecate will work with Copake to address our well-documented concerns about its proposal.

“This should begin with Hecate’s willingness to incorporate the recommendations of the ad hoc working group including creation of a 300-acre public green space to effectively screen the facility’s components and create nature walks and bicycle paths, which would turn Shepherd’s Run from an eyesore into a tourist attraction.”

Friends of Columbia Solar Co-Chair Bradley Pitts said in an email comment about the decision, “Unfortunately, due to the actions of a wealthy minority represented by ‘Sensible Solar,’ the renewable energy Shepherd’s Run could generate—energy we needed to help us avert the worst effects of climate change—will be pushed onto other less resourced communities. This only wastes time we do not have, putting us all at greater risk, particularly global coastal populations. All while depriving Copake of 5 to 7 million dollars in tax revenue.”

An email seeking comment from Hecate Energy Director of Development Matt Levine received this response, “I am currently out of the office Monday, February 5 through Friday February 9. Apologies for any delays in response.” An email for comment from someone else from Hecate was not answered.

In an emailed comment from Sensible Solar for Rural New York on the decision, Linda Senk wrote, “Sensible Solar applauds the decision of ORES’ Executive Director to deny Hecate’s application. We agree with the Executive Director’s statements that: ‘The loss of the Main parcel from the project was Hecate’s responsibility alone, and it failed to act transparently at a critical point in the process…. The Town’s motion and appeal and this decision are the result of applicant’s own error.’ We continue to support the town’s view that this project is deeply flawed, and believe that Hecate should abandon its plans for Shepherd’s Run.”

State Senator Michelle Hinchey (D-41st) issued the following statement in response to the ORES decision: “Hecate LLC’s approach to this project has been in bad faith, and we commend ORES for rejecting the company’s poorly conceived application for Shepherd’s Run. Hitting the goals of our Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requires incentivizing smart solar development that serves both our local communities and the state, and unfortunately, Hecate’s proposal was not aligned with these vital goals. Today’s decision underscores the importance of prioritizing smart solar development, and I thank all the local officials and residents who sounded the alarm about the harms of this project.”

To contact Diane Valden email dvalden@columbiapaper.com