County to hold public meetings on proposed solar project

Wednesday, March 22, 2023 - 19:58

— From Google Maps

The red marker indicates the location of 897 Watervliet Shaker Road in Colonie, where Albany County is proposing the installation of a relatively small solar farm.

ALBANY COUNTY — Albany County is hoping to fill in residents on its solar project proposed near the county’s airport, and to hear their views at two upcoming meetings, one held in-person and the other held virtually. 

The in-person meeting will take place on March 23 at 5:30 p.m. at the BOCES Career and Technical Education Center, located at 925B Watervliet Shaker Road in Colonie. 

The virtual hearing will be held over Zoom on April 4 at 5:30 p.m., and those interested in joining should email CountyExecpublichearings@albanycountyny.gov.

Attendees will first be presented with information about the project, and then, immediately after the presentations, can offer their views. 

Albany County spokeswoman Mary Rozak said the project, located at 897 Watervliet Shaker Road in Colonie, is a 2.1 megawatt solar farm to be developed by the company Siemens, which was selected through a competitive bid. The county will purchase the roughly 2.6 million kilowatt hours of electricity generated by the farm for 25 years, she said. 

According to a state Department of Environmental Conservation bulletin from last year, the county, as lead agency, had issued a negative declaration on the project when it was anticipated to be about 1.9 megawatts, meaning that the project was not expected to have a significant adverse environmental impact. 

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