BARKER, N.Y. — Dozens packed the Barker Central School Auditorium Tuesday for a public hearing regarding the proposed 125MW solar farm in Somerset.
A company called AES is proposing the project at the old power plant on Rt. 18 in Somerset.
The public hearing was hosted by the NYS Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES), the agency tasked with ruling whether or not the project can move forward or not.
The plan calls for thousands of panels to be built on hundreds of acres of farmland. The farmland is owned by Beowulf Electric and Data, and was part of their purchase of the former coal-fired power plant.
One person who spoke out against the plans was Lyndsy Payne, her family lives directly across from the former power plant.
According to the plans, her house would be surrounded on three sides by hundreds of solar panels.
"There's just going to be nothing left," Payne said. "You can see the lake from my house, you can see just the deer and the wildlife and everything and the sunsets, and it's just going be gone."
While some people voiced opposition to the idea of solar energy during the meeting, the majority of those who approached the open mic were against the idea of farmland being used for a solar farm.
Many of the people in attendance don't understand why AES won't build the solar project within the confides of the fenced in property of the former power plant.
"We've utilized as much as that land that's been available to us," said Mario Rice, Development Manager at AES. "Some of it is outside of our leased area and the landowner has other plans for this facility."
One of those plans is the proposed international port between Somerset and Hamilton/Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
Much of the land, however, isn't usable right now for development. Large portions of the property are a designated brownfield site and the property also houses a landfill--both of which have been identified by New York State as prime locations for solar development.
The Office of Renewable Energy Siting will weigh its options regarding approval for the project. It's expected a decision will be made by the end of the year, according to sources 2 On Your Side spoke to.
Niagara Co. Legislator Shawn Foti told officials from ORES that it's their responsibility to ensure the state follows its own laws.
"This property is state defined, protected farmland with prime soils," Foti said. " the RAPID act specifically states that prime farmland, the prime soils and farmland of statewide importance, should be avoided when possible for solar development."
Foti has been a leading voice of awareness about the project for the communities near the former power plant.
Like many of the people who spoke Tuesday night, he isn't against solar--he just wants the panels to be built on the brownfield sites and landfill.
Foti says he's not convinced that AES is limited to only using the farmland rather than the brownfield and landfill portions of the property.
"I don't buy their answer, " Foti said. "They have stated that it's financially not feasible for them to utilize the landfills."
It is expected that New York State will make a financial commitment towards the project, as Governor Hochul mentioned the project during a green energy speech in October 2023--but no monetary figure has been publicly announced yet.
"These are heavily subsidized," Foti said. "So if the taxpayers are paying for it they [AES] should follow the law and follow the wishes of the community that are actually funding these these facilities."
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