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Borrego Solar

GCEDC Board supports Downtown redevelopment and community solar projects

By Billie Owens

Press release:

Projects to revitalize an important downtown corridor in Batavia and to add 22 megawatts of community solar capacity in Genesee County received approval from the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) Board of Directors at the agency’s March 5 board meeting.

The seven projects approved for assistance have pledged more than $45 million of capital investments.

The Ellicott Station project, a $22 million mixed-use brownfield redevelopment project in Downtown Batavia, plans to construct 55 workforce apartments as part of an adaptive reuse of a former manufacturing facility on a brownfield site that would transform a major gateway to the city, and has applied for support from the New York State Office of Community Renewal.

Ellicott Place is a $3.1 million redevelopment of 45-47 Ellicott St. by V.J. Gautieri Constructors. The project includes the construction of 10 second-floor apartments at the existing facility, along with the development of first-floor storefronts and building-wide façade improvements.

Both projects support Genesee County’s EDGE economic development strategy for housing to support the growth of local businesses and were recognized as strategic projects in the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) announced by Governor Cuomo in 2018.

Five community solar projects proposed by Borrego Solar include capital investments of approximately $21.6 million, and over 15 years are projected to produce more than $2 million to local taxing jurisdictions, including the Elba, Pembroke, and Akron school districts. Each project would also contribute $25,000 toward a community benefit agreement to support STEM education and economic development initiatives.

Borrego’s projects will be located at 3104 W. Main Street Road, 3232 W. Main Street Road and 5230 Batavia-Stafford Townline Road in the Town of Batavia and at 241 Knapp Road East and 241 Knapp Road West in the Town of Pembroke.

GCEDC Board to consider applications for solar projects in Batavia and Pembroke

By Billie Owens

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) Board of Directors will consider final resolutions for five community solar projects at the GCEDC’s board meeting Thursday, March 5.

Borrego Solar is investing approximately $22 million across the five projects, which would generate 22 megawatts* of energy for residential and commercial subscribers. The five projects are estimated to generate $2,092,503 in future revenues to the municipalities and schools where the projects are located.

In the Town of Batavia, Borrego Solar has submitted applications for assistance for three solar farms that would be located at 5230 Batavia-Stafford Townline Road (Elba Central School District), 3104 W. Main Street Road (Pembroke Central School District) and 3232 W. Main Street Road (Pembroke Central School District).

If approved, the proposed PILOTs** for the three Town of Batavia projects are estimated to generate $390,041 in revenues to Genesee County, $433,033 in revenues to the Pembroke schools, $318,292 in revenues to the Elba schools over 15 years.

In the Town of Pembroke, Borrego Solar has submitted applications for assistance for two solar farms that would be located at 241 Knapp Road East (Akron Central School District) and 241 Knapp Road West (also Akron Central School District).

If approved, the proposed PILOTs for the two Town of Pembroke projects are estimated to generate $364,711 in revenues to Genesee County and $586,427 in revenues to the Akron Central Schools.

The GCEDC board’s considerations folllows public hearings on Feb. 28 in Pembroke and March 2 in Batavia.

*One megawatt is equivalent to 1 million watts of electricity.

**PILOT is the acronym for Payment In Lieu Of Taxes.

GCEDC considering assistance for five solar projects

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) Board of Directors will consider accepting applications for assistance from Borrego Solar for five community solar projects at the GCEDC’s Feb. 6 board meeting.

Borrego Solar is investing approximately $21.6 million, which would generate 22 megawatts of energy for residential and commercial subscribers. The five projects are estimated to generate $2.092 million in revenues to the municipalities and schools where the projects are located.

In the Town of Batavia, Borrego Solar has submitted applications for assistance for three solar farms that would be located at 5230 Batavia-Stafford Townline Road (Elba Central School District), 3104 W. Main Street Road (Pembroke Central School District) and 3232 W. Main Street Road (Pembroke Central School District).

If approved, the proposed Payment In Lieu Of Taxes  -- PILOTs -- for the three Town of Batavia projects are estimated to generate $390,041 in revenues to Genesee County, $433,033 in revenues to the Pembroke Central schools and $318,292 in revenues to the Elba Central schools over 15 years.

In the Town of Pembroke, Borrego Solar has submitted applications for assistance for two solar farms that would be located at 241 Knapp Road East (Akron Central School District) and 241 Knapp Road West (Akron Central School District).

If approved, the proposed PILOTs for the two Town of Pembroke projects are estimated to generate $364,711 in revenues to Genesee County and $586,427 in revenues to the Akron Central schools.

Since all the projects are requesting more than $100,000 in incentives, public hearings will be scheduled for comment and feedback to the requests.

Pair of West Main Street Road solar farm projects approved, with contingencies

By Mike Pettinella

The Town of Batavia Planning Board on Tuesday night approved, with contingencies, special use permits and site plan reviews for a pair of 20-acre ground-mounted commercial solar systems on West Main Street Road.

The board voted in favor of the application by Borrego Solar Systems Inc. of Lowell, Mass., to build the solar farms on land owned by Fred Bowman and his sister, Mary Anne Forgie, at 3232 and 3104 W. Main Street Road.

The vote on the property at 3232 W. Main Street Road was unanimous for both the special use permit and site plan review, with the exception of an abstention by Donald Partridge.

Regarding the 3104 W. Main Street Road parcel, the vote was 5-1 on the special use permit with Jeremy Liles voting no and Partridge abstaining, and 6-0 on the site plan review with Partridge abstaining.

Partridge said he is looking to put a solar farm on his land and abstained because he thought it would be inappropriate for him to be voting on someone else’s project.

The other committee members who voted were Steve Tanner, Paul McCullough, Paul Marchese, Jonathan Long and Chairperson Kathy Jasinski.

“It’s time to take action; we’ve being doing this (particular project) for months and months,” Jasinski said.

During that time, the board was confronted with opposition to the application pertaining to 3104 W. Main Street Road, primarily from Michael and Joel Hamm of West Main Street Commons LLC, who own an L-shaped 33-acre parcel of property with its northern frontage at 3080 W. Main Street Road.

Their business, First Choice Travel, -- a two-story, 14,000-square-foot office building with ample parking -- is located on the property.

The Hamms, in a letter dated May 3, 2019 from their attorney, Alario & Fischer P.C., brought up several reasons why the solar farm should not be situated on land immediately south and east of their property, including:

-- A potential decrease in property values in a residential/light commercial area;
-- Environmental impact on existing land;
-- Placement of an access road between two residential properties;
-- Visual factors, such as glare, utility poles and wires.

The letter called for a complete visual analysis by the applicant (Borrego) and questioned the validity of the state environmental quality review (SEQR).

After attending the Town Planning Board meeting on May 7, the Hamms sent another letter via their attorney, acknowledging the board’s decision to require Borrego to provide a “visual impact analysis and visual simulations from various vantage points around the proposed property.”

However, they continued to challenge Borrego’s choice of the firm to conduct the analysis, questioning its expertise, and did not accept Borrego’s view that any adverse impact on the area would be “inconclusive” and the planners’ announcement that the SEQR has been completed. They asked that the board take more time to get the data needed to make a “thoughtful, informed decision.”

Neither Joel nor Michael Hamm was at Tuesday night’s meeting. Phone calls to both this morning were not returned by the posting of this story.

Last night’s approvals by the planning board for both the special use permits and site plan reviews do come with certain conditions.

For the special use permits, approval is subject to Genesee County providing fire training in connection with solar farms (coordinated through the East Pembroke Fire Department), making sure plantings and trees are placed to screen the solar farm from neighboring properties, and that conduits are buried properly.

Regarding the site plan reviews, approval is contingent upon obtaining a decommissioning bond and ensuring that engineers have final design approval.

Jasinski said that the board agreed to require enough plantings around the site, decreased the number of poles from five to three, and required that most of the wires (except those on the poles) are buried.

Steve Long, civil engineer for Borrego Solar, said his company “addressed the concerns of the board,” specifically providing the “visual analysis that the board asked for.”

Borrego has entered into a lease agreement with Bowman and Forgie, who said they feel they can “get more out of the land this way.”

Long said construction on the solar system could take place by the end of the year.

Batavia environmentalist Chris Krtanik was another interested observer at last night’s proceedings. He said he is “opposed generally” to these types of projects because they usually don’t benefit the average homeowner.

“I’d like to see tax subsidies for individual homeowners, not for (private enterprise),” he said. “That would be a more efficient way to taking dependency off the main (electric) grid.”

In other developments, planners did not address a site plan review for temporary vendor areas on the Batavia Starter property at 3282 W. Main Street Road since owner Phil Hinrich was not present, and delayed taking action on lead agency status for a proposed solar farm installation on Ellicott Street Road until after consultation with the town attorney.

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