As the state’s Public Service Commission voted this week to enforce New York getting half its power from renewable energy by 2030, Albany County towns with rural land conducive to solar farms are in varying stages of developing zoning ordinances for solar: Bethlehem, Guilderland, and Knox have 2016 laws in place.

A new solar farm to be built west of the Capital District will be dedicated to meeting the needs of electricity-users  in east central New York.

Also  at the June meeting, Sheriff Craig Apple presented a roadside sign promoting awareness of bicyclists and walkers who share the road with cars.

A two-mega-watt array will supply power to the school's facilities from a 20-acre field near Dunnsville and Becker roads.

The Knox group Helderberg Community Energy is hoping to take advantage of community net metering in order to supply solar-generated power to homes in Knox and Berne.

To the Editor:

NEW SCOTLAND — A decision about a solar vendor for municipal energy is expected in the next few weeks, and the proposed town water-well law is still on tap, according to town board members.

The after the Conservation Advisory Council submitted its proposal for prohibiting high-volume hydraulic fracturing, the planning board voted not to make its own recommendation to the town board, considering the prospects for gas drilling nearby slim and since the comprehensive plan is under review.

ALBANY — The designs and connections for solar panels on county-owned buildings need to be known by firefighters who may be in danger otherwise, according to a resolution passed unanimously by the county legislature Monday night.

Solar panels proliferating locally reflect a larger effort to reduce their financial costs and government subsidies. Rural municipalities are surveying their options in earnest.