MASSENA — The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on the solar facility that’s proposed in the towns of Brasher, Norfolk and Massena.
NextEra Energy Resources, through its subsidiary, North Star Energy Center, is proposing to develop, build, own and operate a facility that will produce 180 megawatts of power starting in 2023. About 70% of the project would be situated in Brasher, while 20% would be in Massena and 10% would be in Norfolk.
Although the project area is about 2,200 acres, the final project would comprise 960 acres. Company officials said they anticipate construction beginning in late 2022 and finishing in 2023. The facility would be operational by the end of 2023.
The company has applied for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need to construct and operate the solar facility. As part of the approval process, the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment has scheduled public statement hearings for 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Oct. 26 via www.webex.com or phone. The public statement hearings will be held virtually before the assigned administrative law judges.
For electronic access to the 1 p.m. session, visit www.webex.com, event number 2335 594 6951, password: Oct26-1pm. For the 6 p.m. session, visit www.webex.ccom, event number 2348 504 5364, password: Oct26-6pm.
To phone in for the 1 p.m. session, call 518-549-0500 and enter access code Oct26-1pm. The access code for the 6 p.m. session, using the same phone number, is Oct26-6pm.
Anyone who wants to make a comment on any aspect of the project will have an opportunity to make a statement on the record at the virtual public statement hearings.
Anyone wishing to provide a public statement must register in advance of the hearings. To register electronically, participants who would like to provide a statement and log in to a hearing electronically can visit www.webex.com by 5 p.m. Oct. 25. From the Webex home page, registrants should click “Join a meeting” at the top right-hand corner of the screen, enter the appropriate event number and provide all requested information.
Call-in participants who want to provide a statement can call 800-342-3330 by 5 p.m. Oct. 25. They’ll follow prompts to the appropriate hearing and provide first and last name, address and phone number.
All participants will be muted when they enter the hearing, and the administrative law judges will call on each person who has asked to make a statement. Each public statement hearing will be held open until everyone who has registered to speak has been heard or other reasonable arrangements to submit comments into the record have been made.
Anyone who wants to listen to the hearing without making a statement can access the hearing without pre-registering. It will be live-streamed on the internet and available for viewing on the Department of Public Service YouTube channel on the date and time of the hearing. To access the YouTube channel, visit the department’s website, www.dps.ny.gov, and click on the YouTube icon at the bottom of the home page.
Anyone without internet access can listen to the hearings by calling 518-549-0500 and entering the applicable access code.
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(1) comment
Not very efficient considering that Massena only averages 161 days of sun a year while the national average is 205. Also solar is less efficient the further north you go. Just another scam.
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