ELP Rotterdam Solar is a proposed 20-megawatt (MWac) solar photovoltaic facility, located on privately-owned land in the Towns of Rotterdam and Princetown in Schenectady County, New York.
A facility of this size would provide clean, renewable electricity to power approximately 4,000 households in the capital district.
ELP Rotterdam Solar is located off of Sandborn and Rynex Corners Roads in the Towns of Rotterdam and Princetown, Schenectady County, New York.
The project’s location was chosen for its favorable interconnection to the electric transmission grid on-site, its lack of impact to prime agricultural soils (Mineral Soil Group 1-4), its minimal impacts to threatened or endangered species habitat and other sensitive environmental resources, the opportunity for significant natural vegetated buffer between the project and nearby roadways, properties, and public view points.
The project site is bounded by Crawford Road to the south, and Sanborn and Rynex Corners Road to the north and west.
The site is situated in a rural agricultural area characterized by a mix of woodland, pasture and rural residences. The project’s array area will be located primarily on land consisting of formerly abandoned and overgrown pasture. The two properties on which the project will be sited encompass over 500 acres of land collectively; however, only a portion of this land will be required for the solar facility, allowing flexibility to optimize for minimal impact on sensitive resources, and providing an opportunity to preserve the remaining acreage in an undeveloped state.
The project would connect to the utility grid via a point of interconnection (POI) on National Grid’s 115kV line between the Rotterdam Substation and the Maple Ave Substation. This power line runs through the project site so that the grid connection will be right next to the solar facility.
The Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) was created by the Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth & Community Benefit Act in 2020 and established in Section 94-c of the Executive Law. The ORES is tasked with permitting all major renewables energy facilities in New York State. The procedural and substantive requirements for permit applications are set out in Chapter XVIII, Title 19 of NYCRR Part 900 and can be accessed here.
Once an application is submitted to the ORES, the ORES will review the application for completeness within 60 days. If the project is incomplete, the ORES will issue a notice of incompleteness, outlining the areas of incompleteness and describing the specific deficiencies. Once the deficiencies have been resolved and all requested materials have been received, the ORES will deem the application complete within 60 days. No later than 60 days following the date when the application is deemed complete, the ORES shall publish on it is website draft permit conditions for public comment. If required, a public hearing will be held. The ORES will make a final determination no later than one year after the application is deemed complete.
The project will kick off the application process by filing a notice of intent with ORES, conducting a consultation with the supervisors of the Towns of Rotterdam and Princetown, and hosting a meeting with community members. ELP Rotterdam Solar is planning to host its meeting with community members on April 17, 2024, from 5 pm to 7 pm, at the Rotterdam Junction Volunteer Fire Department, 1215 Main Street in Rotterdam Junction, NY.
ELP Rotterdam Solar will provide local agency account funds. A local agency or potential community intervenor must submit a request for initial funding within 30 days of the date the project files its application and the request must be made to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting at its Albany, New York office, Attention: Request for Local Agency Account Funding.
Upon submission, the project’s application to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting will be accessible for review online through a link to be provided here.
The project’s application to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting will be available for review in person and by appointment at the following locations:
NYS Office of Renewable Energy SitingA. Harriman State Office Campus
Building 9, 4th Floor
1220 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12226
To contact ORES to schedule a time to review the application in person, contact them here or by calling the office at 518 473 4590
Rotterdam Public Library
1100 North Westcott Road
Schenectady, NY 12306
(518) 356-3440
Monday, Thursday to Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm
Tuesday, Wednesday, 10 am to 7 pm
Anyone can sign up to receive notices from ORES about the proposed facility, using the instructions, available here. Upon submission, all documents related to the project’s permit application will be accessisble through the ORES website, under Permit Applications, by clicking the Project Permit Application number.
Upon submission, the project’s notices will be accessible through the links below.
Please find ELP Rotterdam Solar’s 60-day notice of intent to file an application here.
ELP Rotterdam Solar is committed to developing best-in-class projects that are welcomed within our host communities and make meaningful long-term contributions to a sustainable future. We support principles of low-impact development and work to ensure our projects avoid impacts to sensitive ecological, agricultural, and scenic resources.
The ELP Rotterdam Solar project will have minimal impact to wetlands, no impacts on endangered and threatened species, and minimal visual impacts. Wetland delineations, breeding bird surveys, forest raptor surveys, winter raptor surveys, and visual analyses has all been performed to confirm this. The project will also have no impact on cultural, historic, archeological and natural heritage resources, based on consultation with and review by the New York State Historic Preservation Office.
In addition to serving as a source of locally produced clean energy, the community benefits associated with solar projects stem from increased economic activity locally through the project development, construction, and operation phases, long-term support for local services by way of property tax or PILOT payments, and economic benefit to local landowners hosting the projects. ELP Rotterdam Solar is working directly with the Laborers Local 157, headquartered in Rotterdam, to source construction workers to build the project. This project will create approximately 80 construction jobs, with family-sustaining wages. During the project’s twenty-year life, the project will seek local contractors to support the facility’s operation and maintenance. Beyond creating local job opportunities, the project will provide annual tax payments to Schenectady County, the Towns of Rotterdam and Princetown, and Schalmont Central School District.
ELP Rotterdam Solar hosted a public information session on the project in September 2022.
The project is planning its next community meeting on April 17, 2024, to be hosted at the Rotterdam Junction Volunteer Fire Company at 1215 Main Street in Rotterdam Junction, NY, from 5 pm to 7 pm. Materials presented will be available for download following the meeting through a link provided here. Please RSVP to this event using the contact form below.
Contact us
ELP Rotterdam Solar
(201) 275-4795