Nexamp has opened up applications for Hilltown residents, promising them discounts of up to 10 percent on their electricity costs for using energy generated by the controversial solar farms located on the old Shepard Farm resort property in Westerlo.
New York State has put into place tax exemptions to encourage development of renewable energy, which played out last week in Duanesburg, a rural Schenectady County town, that granted payments in lieu of taxes, or PILOTs, for two solar farms.
“I don’t think anybody opposes green energy, but it can’t be in your face, especially a project that big,” said Donna Abbruzzese at her home on Dunnsville Road.
“These are general regulations for large- and small-scale solar,” said Deputy Supervisor Jason Rauf. “It’s not in favor or opposed. It’s just basic regulations.”
A solar farm that went online in January is expected to offset 58 percent of the Guilderland School District’s annual energy consumption, reducing operating expenses by $4.5 million over the next 20 years. The array is also being used as a teaching tool.
Monolith Solar’s new headquarters is currently under construction in the Vista Technology Campus. When complete in October, the $4.9 million project will include a new 16,000-square-foot of office space and 10,000-square-foot research-and-development and manufacturing facility.
