EDITORIAL: Solar 'focus group' is a hopeful sign
Mar. 7—Last week in the old town of Hartland, something new, dynamic and possibly consciousness-raising occurred. A trio of elected town leaders sat with six residents, around a kitchen table figuratively, and started talking about the array of issues involved with utility-scale solar energy generation.
As promised by town supervisor Margaret Zaepfel, this newly formed focus group, which is to meet again next week, consists of both supporters and opponents of EDF Renewables' proposed 350-megawatt Ridge View Solar Center. All volunteers, the members agreed to share and, presumably, listen to one another's thoughts about an unprecedented development proposal in their community.
Zaepfel and the other elected town leaders taking part in this experiment are proudly proclaimed opponents of "industrial" solar in their farm town, and they have already made clear their intention to some how, some way, tighten two local solar siting-related laws that were adopted by the previous town board, following vetting via multiple public hearings, less than a year ago. On the campaign trail last fall, Zaepfel was unabashed in expressing her hope to, if not stop EDF Renewables, at least slow 'em down.
Thus it is a good sign that among the proponents of Ridge View Solar who joined the focus group are a former town board member with a grasp on the big-picture challenges in Hartland, and a farm owner who would lease some of her acreage to EDF Renewables.
All the way back to 2019, when the concept of Ridge View Solar first went public, opponents have been shouting the supposed negatives from the rooftops — negatives that far too often are steeped in misinformation, fearmongering and even nativism — while too little has been said about the potential and real pluses of such a development.
Put simply, Hartland is a farm town, and outside the ag sector — which, like it or not, includes green energy generation — there's not another type of business that could move in and generate hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in host community benefits for the town and the Royalton-Hartland school district. For aging homeowners, who bear a big share of the overall property tax burden since there aren't a lot of non-farm commercial or industrial contributors to hit up, that's nothing to sneeze at.
Whether any amount of host community benefits could outweigh, or EDF Renewables could be persuaded or required to mitigate, actual negatives of solar utility development, is a conversation that's yet to be had in Hartland. Perhaps there's no rush, since EDF has put off filing its application for a siting permit from New York State, most recently to 2025 — but at some point, the opposition that has dominated the "conversation" thus far needs to face reality: If EDF still wants in, it's coming in. Tweaks in the local siting laws may or may not stall it temporarily. Meanwhile, all that time spent ... tilting at windmills ... would be better invested in trying to get the best and most favorable development terms possible for the whole town, financially, environmentally and elsewise. That's where informed skeptics could be of greater service to their community.
Whether seats at the table for Ridge View Solar supporters are more than just window dressing remains to be seen, but at first glance this new focus group appears promising. If nothing else it's a new town board majority's attempt to ensure the "other side" of a divisive issue is heard and accounted for. That's different, and commendable, too. With any luck, the group stays together and open dialog ensues.
