As many readers of this paper know, EDF Renewables (EDFR) is the developer of the proposed 240 MW Solar/20 MW storage Rich Road Solar and Storage project that will bring high-paying union jobs and millions of dollars of new tax revenues to the Town of Canton and the Canton Central School District in St. Lawrence County.
In his February 6 column, Tom Graser questions our recent mailing to 4,281 homes and businesses in Canton. He discussed the fact this mailing was delivered in a white envelope with the return address of the firm we hired to send the notice and track. The headline asked if the mailing was intended to deceive.
I write to let you and readers know there was no intent to deceive anyone. In fact, we went above and beyond what the State requires because we remain dedicated to keeping the community informed and engaged.
Mr. Graser correctly noted, EDFR is required to “inform me and my neighbors about certain steps in their progress.” The project is governed by the state’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) 94-c permitting process which mandates that solar developers notify all residents living within one mile of the project area about select milestones the project must go through prior to receiving NYS approval. These milestones include community meetings, open houses, notice of when a project will file its permit with the state, etc.
In the case of this notification, EDFR went a step further. In addition to mailing the notice to a one-mile radius, we voluntarily sent it to everyone living in the Canton 13617 zip code. More than 3,100 Canton residents received the mailers beyond the required permitting guidelines. We did so, because EDFR firmly believes in the spirit of being transparent for the entire Canton community.
Mr. Graser also noted the mailing included the return address of the firm hired by EDFR to help achieve the communications requirements of the permitting. We are sorry if this caused confusion, but please understand this allows EDFR to accurately track which mailings are returned so we may keep our lists up to date.
And finally, this mailing is also just one part of our outreach campaign that, so far has included eight meetings with local leaders in the past year, and hosting two community open houses in Canton—one in July 2021 and a second in July 2022. We’ve also appeared before the town board multiple times since 2018 and have a dedicated information link on the Town’s website. There is more to come and our door is always open to anyone who wishes to speak with me about the project.
I encourage people to visit our website (RichRoadSolar.com) to learn about the many benefits the project will bring to Canton and St. Lawrence County, or reach out to me directly if you have questions about the project.
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