CANTON – Concerns expressed earlier by the developers of a 240-megawatt solar center on the Rich Road in the Town of Canton surrounding proposed changes to the Canton Town Code law now appear to be moot points.

EDF Renewables recently received word that the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) has issued a notice of completion to EDF Renewables’ Rich Road project application.

With that, according to the town’s solar attorney William M. Buchan, changes to the proposed zoning law will not apply to EDF.

The zoning law, that still needs to be passed by the town board, includes wording to regulate battery storage facilities, which is part of EDF’s Rich Road project.

“We intend to fully participate in the ORES permitting process as it moves forward. As the permit application is considered by ORES, we will continue to advocate the interests of the Canton community and to contribute to the creation of a complete record before the permitting authority,” said Buchan.

Project developer Jonathan Geldard describes the ORES notice of completion as the next favorable step in the still-to-be thorough process.

“Having been able to have our 94-c Application Deemed Complete is a big milestone for the project, however, we still have a bit of runway ahead in the process until a final decision will be made,” said Geldard “The next step is for the Office of Renewable Energy Siting to issue a draft of the Siting Permit for public review within 60 calendar days from deeming the application complete.  The draft permit will include all of the applicable requirements and conditions that will apply to the facility during construction, through operation, and upon decommissioning at the end of life.”  

Geldard noted that after the Draft Permit is released, participating parties such as the Town and Village, will have an additional 60 calendar days for the opportunity to prepare and issue a Municipal Statement of Compliance, which will assess the Project and its application in comparison to the local laws as are in effect today.

“Upon the closure of the public comment period, the Office of Renewable Energy Siting will review the project record and oversee any remaining discussions that may be ongoing related to specific topics of concern until a Final permit decision can be issued,” he continued.

“In the meantime, we will continue to collaborate with the Town and the community to establish agreements pertaining to items ranging from tax and community benefit payments from the project to details on how the project will be constructed and operated. The project anticipates providing the town, county, and school district approximately $30 million dollars in tax revenues over the first 20 years in operation and desires to manage our construction force of approx. 250 union personnel within the expectations of the community,” Geldard remarked.

The town board is holding a public hearing on the proposed Town Zoning law on Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 5 p.m. at the Canton Municipal Building.