FAQ

EDF Renewables is a market leading independent power producer and service provider with more than 30 years of experience leading the way to a clean energy future with large-scale projects that put the economy, communities and the environment first.

EDF Renewables has developed, financed, constructed, operates and manages more than 16 gigawatts (the equivalent of 160 million 100-watt light bulbs) of renewable energy projects in North America over the last 30 years. In New York, the company built, owns and operates the 80-megawatt (the equivalent of 800 thousand 100 watt light bulbs) Copenhagen Wind Farm in Lewis County.

EDF Renewables completed a number of other large solar electricity generating projects, including the 143 MW Catalina Solar project in California and 137 MW Playa 2 Solar project in Nevada. EDF Renewables is starting construction on projects as large as the 500 MW Palen Solar project in California. EDF Renewables is also committed to building the 200 MW Arrow Canyon Solar project in Nevada that will be completed in 2022 and include a significant energy storage component.

The Rosalen Solar and Storage project is a proposed 200 MW solar photovoltaic project that will be sited on approximately 2,000 acres of private land located in the Towns of Rose and Galen in Wayne County, New York. The project will generate enough electricity to power 51,000 homes annually during its 30 years of operation, provide tax and job benefits to the region, and contribute to New York State’s renewable energy targets.

There are three reasons why EDF Renewables is proposing the Rosalen Solar project in the Towns of Rose and Galen;

1. There are transmission lines running through the Town of Rose with sufficient capacity to take the electricity generated by the Project.
2. There is a good amount of cleared land in the area that can support a solar project of this size. Cleared land that is unconstrained of environmental features to facilitate project permitting and fairly flat that can accommodate project infrastructure is necessary for a project like this.
3. A supportive community that accepts to be a host for a solar project. EDF Renewables found a good number of landowners who want to participate in hosting the project, and the communities of Rose and Galen have been supportive of our efforts to propose this type of development in the area. EDF Renewables is sensitive that an amount of farmland is being displaced by the Project, but will work with the community to find ways to incorporate agriculture, such as grazing sheep and foraging bees.

The power line right of ways are owned by the utility company and typically need to be clear of development so the lines can be accessed for operation and maintenance. Transmission lines and towers cast shade on the panels which negatively impacts production.

The cost of solar energy decreased significantly in the past 10 years. Based on factual solar irradiation information that we’ve gathered, it is now economically viable to generate solar electricity in New York.

We know that many people in the communities where we are active are avid hunters. Our project components, like the solar panels, inverters and transformers are surrounded by fences in accordance with electrical codes. The areas within the fences will not be available for hunting. However, provided that hunters have permission from landowners and are following applicable hunting guidelines and regulations, hunting can occur in the vicinity of and adjacent to our solar facilities.

Land that is being taxed as agriculture exempt will lose this exemption and be applied a penalty paid by EDF Renewables. Hosting a solar project will not change the zoning designation of host properties or neighboring properties. Rosalen Solar project will not affect the property taxes of neighboring properties. Properties hosting project components may have an increase in taxes, which will be paid by EDF Renewables.

Properties hosting project components may have an increase in taxes, which will be paid by EDF Renewables.

Funds that will be contributed to the towns of Rose and Galen are typically for the town and its citizens to determine how it will be spent. EDF renewables does not determine how the funds will be spent or allocated.

Rosalen solar will provide substantial new revenues (anticipated to be more than $1,000,000 per year) paid to the host Town(s), County and associated school districts. The project will also be sited with appropriate visual setbacks and buffering to properly integrate the project in the community.

The town and its citizens would have an opportunity to determine how the funds are appropriated. The land rent paid to landowners is also a significant investment in the community.

More than 300 jobs will be created to build the project over two years and four full time positions will be created during operation. All these new investments will have an appreciable benefit to the community at large.

EDF Renewables is negotiating a Payment In Lieu of Tax (PILOT) and Host Community Agreement package that is proposed to contribute $2,500 per megawatt (MW) in additional annual contributions to the community. For the 200 MW Project, the PILOT and Host Community Agreement are proposed to contribute $875,000 per year in additional revenues for the Towns, Wayne County and School Districts. The PILOT and Host Community Agreement contributions are proposed to increase by 2% annually, for the term of the agreements.

Based on our understanding of the current taxes being paid by the land proposing to host the solar facilities, the project would contribute more than ten times more revenues to the Town, County and School districts on a per acre basis compared to the current taxes being paid.

Yes, any property that will host project infrastructure will have a lease or easement agreement and will receive a form of compensation.

EDF Renewables is not a real estate company and prefers to lease properties because it is important to keep ownership of the properties in the local community. That way, when the leases expire, local people have the opportunity to determine what happens to the properties. A benefit of solar energy leases is that the landowners make a steady revenue stream for many decades while the project is in operation.

The project must follow strict guidelines by the Department of Agriculture and Markets during construction and decommissioning to protect topsoil and repair soil compaction. As part of decommissioning, the land can be returned to farming and the soil could benefit from grazing by sheep or other uses during the project operating life.

Solar panels are used to convert sunlight to a usable source of electricity, much like plants convert sunlight to crops for energy. Just like farms produce corn, soy, grains, milk and meat that are sold to urban and rural markets, the electricity produced by the solar project supplies the same urban and rural markets.

EDF Renewables successfully integrated 300 sheep on a 200 acre solar project in Ontario Canada. The farmers will be able to sell free range grass-fed lamb on the market as a result.

Click here to watch a video about solar grazing produced by EnterSolar, an affiliate of EDF Renewables.

And here is another video about solar grazing, by Farm Credit East.

One more video here that shows a virtual school field trip to visit sheep under solar panels!

We are sensitive to the use of agricultural land and are continually trying to find ways to incorporate agriculture with solar. One such way is by grazing sheep among the solar panels to control vegetation. We usually pay a business to provide vegetation management services which can include mechanical mowing, but we love the idea of sheep grazing in lieu of mechanical mowing as much as possible.

Typically, the way this works is we sign an agreement and pay the business or farmer to maintain the vegetation by using sheep and/or mechanical mowing.

Solar is an integral part of a cleaner, less carbon emitting electricity system. Any carbon that can be mitigated has a direct positive impact on overall climate change. A project like Rosalen solar can offset the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity and generate positive change in the face of climate change. Rosalen Solar project is anticipated to avoid more than 159,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually which represents the greenhouse gas emissions from 34,000 passenger vehicles driven over the course of one year.

Project components are intended to be sited to the greatest extent possible on lands that are already cleared. However, depending on the land participating in the project there might be some infrastructure sited within areas that are currently wooded.

The expected electricity generated in one year is enough to meet the consumption of up to 51,000 average homes. This is equivalent to avoiding more than 159,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually which represents the greenhouse gas emissions from 34,000 passenger vehicles driven over the course of one year.

Our oldest large utility scale solar facility is 10 years old and it continues to be in operation and is still owned by EDF Renewables. The same solar panels that were installed 10 years ago are still producing electricity on site. This site is still very much sustainable and hosts more than 300 sheep grazing vegetation among the solar panels and beehives that produce 300 x 16 oz jars of honey annually.

Crystalline silicon panels that are manufactured using safe and non-toxic materials are proposed for this project. These modules are comprised of silicon, copper and aluminum, sandwiched between glass and a plastic encapsulant with an aluminum frame. These types of solar modules do not contain or leach toxic materials and are the same type that are commonly installed on rooftops and schools. The Facility may incorporate energy storage technologies; however, design and engineering of the Facility is ongoing, and this design component has not been finalized. Additional information regarding energy storage technologies will be included in the Article 10 Application, if applicable.

To respond to the concern about leaching of pollutants from solar panels, a paper from the University of North Carolina exploring the toxicity of silicon-based PV panels concludes that “silicon-based PV panels do not pose a material threat to public health and safety. The only aspect of the panels with potential toxicity concerns is the very small amount of lead in some panels. However, any lead in a panel is well sealed from environmental exposure for the operating lifetime of the solar panel and thus not at risk of release into the environment.”

On the topic of lead, the paper mentions “recent advances in lead-free solders have spurred a trend among PV panel manufacturers to reduce or remove the lead in their panels.” For the support structures, the same paper mentions “The most significant non-panel component of a ground-mounted PV system is the mounting structure of the rows of panels, commonly referred to as “racking”. The vertical post portion of the racking is galvanized steel and the remaining above-ground racking components are either galvanized steel or aluminum, which are both extremely common and benign building materials.”

The state permitting process for renewable energy projects includes studies and assessments to meet very stringent guidelines for the protection of environmental features, cultural heritage features and archaeology. The Project will also need to adhere to noise and visual standards. Reports and studies documenting these and other items will be prepared as part of the permitting application and available to the Towns and community stakeholders for review and comment. EDF Renewables intends to keep the Towns apprised of Project development and permitting progress, and proactively addressing issues that come up together.

EDF Renewables does not have access to eminent domain. All the properties that will host the facility will be signed up to lease or easement agreements mutually agreed to between EDF Renewables and landowners.

Some of the power will be consumed locally (in Syracuse and Rochester and in the towns in between). The remainder will be consumed upstate New York and in areas on the way to New York City.
Much like the dairy, corn, grains, and vegetables produced locally feeds both rural and urban centers, so does the electricity we will generate.

We need to build a substation that collects all the electricity generated from the solar panels and increase the voltage for injection onto the 345kv transmission lines. That substation would be located on leased property adjacent to the exiting transmission line on steel towers running east/west on the southern part of the Town of Rose.

No tax dollars are being paid to the project to build the project. The project only gets paid as electricity is sold to the grid. Renewable energy generation, including solar is necessary in New York state to meet targets to generate 70% of New York’s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030.
The cost of solar electricity has decreased substantially in the past 10 years and it is now economically feasible in New York.

Solar energy does not produce any greenhouse gases during the operation of the facility. Overall manufacturing through to decommissioning, the carbon footprint of a solar is about one tenth of coal and one fifth of natural gas.

At this point in time, the electricity generated by the project would be sold to the merchant market and not available for direct purchase from persons or businesses in the local community. However, it may be possible to aggregate electricity customers in the area or negotiate offtake agreements with businesses to sell the electricity and or renewable energy credits directly to them.

The Rosalen solar project can supply enough electricity to meet the demands of about 51,000 homes, and therefore would require agreements with a significant number of homes or one or more businesses using significant electricity.

No, the solar panels do not make noise. Some of the facility components such as inverters and transformers do make noise, but that equipment is sited with appropriate setbacks from neighboring homes so that the sound observed would be no louder than that of a quiet room.

Decommissioning is the process of removing equipment (solar panels, inverters, transformers) and improvements (roads and fences) and returning the land to its prior use when a solar facility is at its end of life. This is paid for by the project owner, and not the landowner or municipality.

We responded to feedback we heard during our first meetings with the Town of Rose and the Town of Galen. We heard that securing the cost of decommissioning for the Project before the start of operation was important to the community. Since then, EDF Renewables has committed to the Towns that it will provide a financial security prior to the start of operation, such as a letter of credit held with a reputable financial institution, in the amount necessary to remove the Project components and return the land to pre-existing conditions for the benefit of the Towns, in the event that the Project owner is unable to properly decommission the site.

If project land was previously used for agriculture, any topsoil that was removed or disturbed during the construction, operation or decommissioning of the solar facility will be replaced so the land can be returned to farming.

The disposal of solar panels in New York must conform to all governmental, environmental, and legal requirements. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) established a national recycling program connecting US-based recyclers with businesses who have solar panels to recycle. Many components of crystalline silicon panels can be reused and recycled, namely the metal, glass and wiring components, as well as the silicon cells which can be melted down to reclaim the silicon and various metals by specialty recycling companies.

During the development process, people are employed conducting site surveys, permitting, community engagement, land acquisition and many more activities. We have hired a number of consultants from across Upstate NY and have expanded our NY EDF Renewables’ development team with local NYS residents.

Construction is anticipated to take two years, and at its peak, require more than three hundred workers. It is anticipated that a significant component of the labor force will be sourced from Western New York. Part of our four-person operations team is anticipated to be staffed locally provided that candidates for the position are available.

Job creation for rural New Yorkers is a key benefit for communities hosting solar projects. It is especially important to consider solar job training for the youth and the high paying jobs the industry offers especially now, during these unpredictable times. In fact, solar energy is the fastest growing job sector in the nation. Solar energy has been and will continue to be a prominent job creator, and we anticipate hiring more than 300 workers during the construction of the Project. The Project will also employ 4 full-time employees. The fact is, the need for solar photovoltaic installers grows faster each year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of solar jobs are projected to double by 2026, compared to the average rate of seven percent job growth in other industries.

Land is not being re-zoned for commercial because solar energy is permitted within the current land designation.

There will be no rezoning required as part of the project. It is not necessary for this type of development as it is allowed under the current zoning. The zoning of neighboring properties will not change because of the project.

Crystalline silicon panels that are manufactured using safe and non-toxic materials are proposed for this project. These modules are comprised of silicon, copper and aluminum, sandwiched between glass and a plastic encapsulant with an aluminum frame. These types of solar panels do not contain toxic materials and are the same type that are commonly installed on rooftops and schools.

The 2019 Energy Storage System Supplement was added to the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building code, establishing new provisions that must be followed when energy storage systems are installed in New York. According to the notice posted to the New York State Register October 16, 2019, “these new provisions will require extra protective measures in all cases where [energy storage systems] are used; require extra protective measures based on the location of the installation; and otherwise enhance the level of protection to all people of the State from the potential hazard of fires caused by the installation and use of [energy storage systems]”. Source

Training for local resources is available from NYSERDA upon request. With proper training, incidents involving energy storage systems can be addressed by local emergency response personnel.

Solar panels rarely catch fire and are not combustible. In the unlikely event of a fire within a solar panel, it would smolder and not likely spread.
During the permitting process and prior to the start of construction, the project team will meet with local EMS officials to confirm the appropriate training and response protocols to be followed. A Health and Safety Plan, Site Security Plan and Emergency Action Plan will be prepared as part of the permitting process and will be reviewed with local EMS officials prior to the start of construction.

All our facilities will include Knox boxes and local first responders will have keys to enter the facility. Depending on the agreement with first responders and their comfort with the facility, they will either a) wait for operations personnel to arrive before entering the facility or b) notify EDF Renewables and enter the facility prior to the arrival of Operations & Maintenance personnel.
A local crew of 4 or more persons would operate and maintain the facility, therefore there would be staff living near the project.

Placards around the facility will provide a number to call our operations and maintenance control center, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and speak to a live person.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has examined property values across the United States. Their studies demonstrate large-scale solar arrays often have no measurable impact on the value of adjacent properties and in some cases may even have positive effects.

Furthermore, the proximity to solar farms does not deter the sales of agricultural or residential land. Large solar projects have similar characteristics to a greenhouse or single-story residence and the integration of visual buffers, such as natural vegetation, trees, and green fences lessen the visual impact of the project from neighboring homes and roads.

Read the full SEIA fact sheet here.

Rosalen Solar Energy Center must complete a thorough permitting process that takes a minimum of three years to complete with multiple opportunities for input from all stakeholders.

The project would not be able to start construction before late 2023. Construction would last 2 years, and the operation phase is intended to last 30-40 years after which time the project would be decommissioned and the land returned to its previous use, including farming.

Construction could start by end of 2023 (at the conclusion of permitting) and be operational two years thereafter.

More than 300 jobs will be created during construction (expected to last two years) as well as four full time positions during operation, fostering significant long-term job growth along with other projects across the state within the renewable energy sector.

Businesses that benefit from labor, services and material supply before, during and after construction include environmental consulting, project and construction management, surveying, geotech, construction services, equipment rental, landscaping, maintenance, and hospitality to name a few. For more information about solar careers, click here or watch more videos on the IREC YouTube Channel.

EDF Renewables sees four main benefits of the project moving forward;

1. Additional revenues for the local towns and counties for at least the next 20 years. The Rosalen Solar project is proposed on 2,000 acres of land. Revenues to the Town of Rose, Town of Galen, Wayne County and associated school districts would be about ten times higher than the current tax contributions on those lands. Taking into account a 2% annual increase, this represents $32 million in new revenues to the host Towns, County and associated school districts over the first 25 years of operation. When landowner payments are added, the contributions to the community are more than $110 million over the same 25 year period. These are all dollars that will be partially reinvested into the community, and do not include paid salaries or locally sourced material, service or equipment supplies. Additional benefits are possible from co-locating farming like sheep grazing and foraging of bees within the solar footprint.
2. Stable new “cash crop” revenues that last a minimum of 20 years for local landowners leasing land to the Project.
3. Hosting a clean energy facility that will provide jobs and significant non-polluting power into the electrical grid for generations to come.
4. An opportunity to support agricultural jobs and products by finding ways to incorporate agriculture within the Project footprint.

EDF Renewables is committed to a thorough engagement process. The project development team has been in contact with officials from the towns of Rose and Galen since the spring of 2019. In August 2019, public meetings were held in the Town of Rose and Galen and attended by about 80 people. The permitting process for this project will take until 2022 to complete and there are numerous opportunities for public involvement throughout the process.

Members of the public can share feedback with the project team or ask questions at any time by dialing 833-333-7369, emailing newyorksolar@edf-re.com. Our team is also available to meet with individuals and local organizations who have questions or need more information. Informational boards from the August 2019 public meeting can be found in the resources section below and a copy of the Public Involvement Program plan is available here. Additional public meetings will be held at a future date.

For additional information you can find our March 2020 webinar here.

Podcasts from WNY Media works can also be found here on topics spanning the solar industry!”

EDF Renewables is sensitive to designing a project that is well received by the community and can be well integrated into the area. Features such as visual buffers typically created by planting vegetation along roadsides and adjacent to neighboring homes near the project help soften the visual impact of the facility and maintain the rural character of the area.

Energy storage systems are becoming an integral part of a clean electricity system of the future. An integrated energy storage system would allow us to store electricity during the day to produce onto the grid when the sun is not shining and increase the reliability of the facility to better meet New York’s electricity needs. New York State mandated the installation of 3,000 MW of energy storage systems by 2030 through the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act that was signed into law in July 2019.

Energy storage systems can be safely integrated into your community. According to a publication by experts who study and provide testing of energy storage systems, “working at or living near an energy storage system is less risky than driving a car 10 hours per week, smoking, or working in industries such as construction, mining, or agriculture”. (Source)

Rosalen Solar project may or may not include energy storage systems. That will be determined at a later date, but for transparency, we are proceeding as if the project will include energy storage.

Click here to watch a short video about energy storage!

EDF Renewables would pick up any costs associated with this.

The EDF Renewables team is dedicated to keep the town of Rose and the town of Galen informed of the Rosalen Solar project progress, and remain committed to make sure the interests of the community are considered. Our understanding of the modified permitting regime in New York is for EDF Renewables to provide $1,000 per megawatt capacity to the State (“Intervenor Funding”), for use by the host community to hire attorneys and consultants to help with due diligence and providing feedback on the Project. Intervenor funds are made available to ensure that towns and other key interested parties have the financial resources to participate in the permitting process.

These funds would be made available after the Project submits its permitting application, currently anticipated in 2022. Prior to that time, it is expected that the Towns may want to retain one or more attorneys or consultants to help with its due diligence and understanding of the Project, permitting process, and what it means for the community. During this early stage of development, in an effort to eliminate any financial burdens on the Towns’ budgets due to the Project. EDF Renewables would be open to talking about providing reasonable funding for the Towns to conduct some due diligence activities prior to the Intervenor Funding being made available.

Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, EDF Renewables had to cancel the public meeting that was scheduled on March 24th. In an effort to update the community and continue receiving their feedback, we uploaded a webinar in the Resources section to provide the information that was going to be presented at the public meeting. We invite anyone with comments or questions to reach out to us by phone at 1-833-333-7369 or by email at newyorksolar@edf-re.com . Please indicate that you are contacting us about the Rosalen Solar project.