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Rooftops, Landfills, and Farm Fields - Solar Power Momentum Builds in New York State, August 2020 (cover story)
Rooftops, Landfills, and Farm Fields – Solar Power Momentum Builds in New York State, August 2020 Albany’s Carbon-Neutral Goals and New Siting Policy Leaves Municipalities and Solar Developers with Opportunities and Challenges
John Shields, PE and Daniel Yanosh, PE
(August 1, 2020, Rochester NY).
Cuomo Administration’s Regulatory Impetus Has Solar Developers and Engineers Revisiting Complex Site and Financing Challenges
August Update: While narrow margins between solar power prices and upstate New York electric prices continue to make solar project “go/no-go” decisions difficult, the solar development community is energized following Albany’s introduction of Article 23 in the 2020 NYS Budget. An alternative-energy, catch-all piece of legislation, the Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act (Act) was created to “accelerate approval and construction” processes and effectively removes the behemoth Public Service Commission (PSC) to replace it with a new and nimble Office of Renewable Siting (ORS, please see sidebar).
What got us here? Creative efforts at municipalities like Clifton Springs, Walworth, and City of Canandaigua set the stage
Alternative Energy Complex at Clifton Springs Remains Model of Creativity
The addition of a solar array to the Village of Clifton Springs’ Department of Public Works site in 2016 cemented the Village’s claim to having created a premier, regional Alternative Energy Complex. With a yield of approximately 355 KWs from the combined North and South Arrays, the creation of the solar fields added to the Village’s preexisting wastewater treatment plant, wood chip storage capacity, and co-composting facility.
Clifton Springs Alternative Energy Complex
For its part, HUNT Engineers and Architects entered the solar market in 2015/2016 in response to NYSERDA incentives that encouraged municipalities and school districts to develop arrays that were generally 2.5 MWs and smaller. They recorded several high-profile successes, building on their preexisting municipal and K-12 relationships and by quickly finishing site design, navigating municipal approval processes, and then rapidly completing buildouts.
“The size of our early projects was based on site constraints, not a specific electric output target”, says HUNT’s John Shields, PE. “The Clifton Springs array with about 350 KW output is a perfect complement to the Village facility. The objective was to save energy costs, create carbon free power, and create a facility that is a working model for sustainable practices. It’s not uncommon for students from area schools to tour the site and see sustainability firsthand”.
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With the creation of the Act, the Cuomo Administration released a “solar pulse” of its own in the January 2020 budget. Pressed by a goal of carbon neutrality, Albany is seeking with the Act to both increase the size of solar array projects, and, with its creation of a new fast-track-oriented state agency, dramatically alter the array siting-decision-making process.
For projects reviewed under the Act, array siting oversight moves from the Public Service Commission (PSC) and local municipal control to a new multi-agency Office of Renewable Siting (ORS). In doing so, Albany hopes to reproduce the success of its Regional Economic Development Council model and simultaneously empower New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Although the new process prompted an outcry from both local jurisdictions and solar developers who worry about having to “compete” with NYSERDA (through the Act, the Authority is afforded the ability to locate, secure and permit sites to then sell as ‘build ready’ to developers), Albany has remained steadfast in asserting that employing the PSC for the alternative energy initiative was too cumbersome for a body created to oversee electric, gas, steam, telecommunications and water service regulatory issues.
Key elements:
1. The Act is created to accelerate approval and construction of all types of alternative energy projects. It creates ORS removing siting authority from the PSC.
2. The Act will be a permitting option for solar projects 20 MWs to 25 MWs. The Act is available to both private and public sponsored projects. Projects less than 20 MW will be reviewed under local jurisdiction.
3. In addition to private sector solar developments, a new public sector operating structure will be based on regions. Wherein locals can identify and nominate sites for alternative energy projects, this will be similar to NYS’s Regional Economic Development Councils. These regional organizations are now expected to be operational in Q4 2020 at the earliest and perhaps not until Q2 2021.
4. NYSERDA will review the nominated sites and have the authority to acquire and permit these sites. When permitted they will be auctioned to developers.
5. PILOTs and Host Community Agreements will be negotiated with NYSERDA.
6. The Act has a “mandatory approval” trigger. If approvals are not received after 12 months from the submission of a complete application the project is considered approved.
7. The Act supports NYS’s target of 6 GWs of distributed solar. As a result, a “distribution study” is expected to be conducted from Q4 2020 to Q1 2021. This study will be repeated every four years after 2024 to ensure reliability and flexibility.
8. The distribution study will identify required upgrades to the electrical grid. These upgrades are targeted for 2023.
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Town of Walworth Construction
Traditional Example: Town of Walworth
Walworth’s power generating facility is widely seen as a traditional array. The Town had an underutilized site which allowed for a larger array with a common configuration. Working with solar project developers, the Town of Walworth implemented a Community Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that allowed the Town to capture an electrical power credit for the next 25 years – at no up-front costs to itself.
At the urging of New York State, Walworth has aggressively sought to reduce its carbon footprint – an effort aided by utilizing federal tax credit incentives and NYSERDA cash grants -- through this PPA agreement.
Ballast System at Canandaigua
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Landfill Examples: City of Canandaigua takes advantage of an attractive site with complicated geotech and ground-mounting considerations
The City of Canandaigua’s Ontario County Road 46 site was the location of a landfill that had been abandoned with no formal documentation of closure. Working closely with NYSDEC officials, the City and its engineering and financing partners verified the landfill was a suitable site for a new purpose. After field tests were conducted, it was decided that the site could optimally be used for solar energy production. Photovoltaic panels were fastened to a ballasted racking system to minimize disturbance to the surface and avoid penetration of the protective landfill cap. The Ontario County Road 10 site was cited on private land toward NYS’s target for solar energy.
through a lease agreement with the solar developer. This additional site allowed the City to integrate an even larger renewable energy project than could have been installed on the landfill site alone.
The two arrays include over 13,000 solar modules, approximately 90 solar inverters, and combined will interconnects limited, substation investment
produce 5.5 MWs. The County Road 46 site is the larger of the two arrays.
With an estimated 25-year savings of approximately $3.5M to be realized, City of Canandaigua officials worked patiently with the more than six parties brought together to make the project work, including: HUNT, NEE, RER Energy
Solar Array Types: Overview – megawatts & land size, approval process, project cycle
1. Structure Arrays – generation capacity varies based on application. These would be roof-top installations and parking lot canopies. Municipal review required, glare study likely, electricity captured by owner. Project cycle: < 12 months.1.
2. Small Array (2MW/10 acres) – easiest for municipal approval, SEQRA, interconnect easier, none are major steps toward NYS’s target for solar energy (6 GWs by 2025). Project cycle: 3 years +/-.
3. Medium Array (up to 25MW/150 acres) – perhaps more resistance from communities, SEQRA, interconnects tricky, but sub-transmission lines work, no substation investment, good progress Project cycle: 3 years +/-.
4. Large Array (›25MW/125+ acres) – strongest resistance from communities, traditionally require Article 10 review, Group, RG&E, NYSERDA, and AEP Onsite Partners. Interconnects limited, substation investment likely, major advance toward NYS’s target. Project cycle: 7+ years often much longer.
State-of-the-Art: Solar in mid-2020
Reflecting on the Canandaigua project in July 2020, HUNT’s Shields asserted that, “Sites like this allow creativity to come into play when developing land to its highest and best use. More recently, we completed a landfill site for Brockport. Again, solar development breathes new life onto a property whose development options are severely limited. The Brockport landfill has a formal closure plan so geotechnical and structural considerations related to the installation of the panels and racking were needed to protect the integrity of the landfill and the plan required specific ground mounting to protect the landfill cap.”
“Project delivery has changed in the last five years”, says HUNT’s Dan Yanosh, PE. “Projects are getting bigger and the players have more experience, so coordination has improved, which is important. Also, developers and contractors have worked with us to streamline the process.” Market research suggests that the 20MW projects offer fantastic short- and long-term opportunities. In December 2019, HUNT made an internal commitment to court larger 20 MW projects in addition to continuing to cater to those closer to the 5 MW scale.
The path for solar arrays has some key mile-markers. Feasibility is the starting point, with criteria such as land use regulations, generating potential, and grid interconnect potential. Once the project kicks-off, a tight scope of work schedule is created and customized around developer needs and site requirements. Engineering efforts begin with survey, civil, permitting, electrical, and structural services.
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Canandaigua Before and After: Landfill at left and traditional array at right.
Once topographic and boundary survey is complete, preliminary design and permitting is coordinated with the local municipality. Regulatory processes such a NYS’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) can be handled by a firm like HUNT who often calls on subconsultants for archeological, geotechnical, and endangered species reports. At the 85%-complete-drawings-mark, the team will review all aspects before issuing Construction Drawings. Once construction commences the project requires administration of civil and electrical construction services, SWPPP inspections, and electrical commissioning.
HUNT’s Yanosh says his firm uses specific software that allows a comprehensive project delivery. “HelioScope® is a tool that allows a developer to discover the power generation potential for a given layout over a particular property. Forge Solar® software helps determine whether a project will generate unwanted glare which is most critical for projects near airports, highways, and structures. With ground mount, roof-top and canopy systems it’s useful information for surrounding property owners”.
Mid-Size and Article 10 Projects Continue to Draw Attention
Solar Engineers believe the mid-size array market -- 10-20 MW projects -- will be sustained to at least 2025 if NYS solar developers add 600 MWs per year until NYS’s Green New Deal target is reached though many in the market feel it will be longer. At the close of 2019, completed and pipeline projects totaled 2.8 GWs.
Meanwhile, pipeline projects 25 MWs and above are still governed by A10 regulations (major power generation siting rules). These are large, often complex projects. Current A10 threshold is ≥25 MWs of name-plate capacity for new or repowering projects. These tend to be large solar, wind, and in some cases hydroelectric projects. Most of these projects are 80 MWs and up, a major undertaking that requires enormous staff capacity and expertise to permit.
Furthermore, observers worry that the A10 market is limited because of the few number of sites that can meet all the requirements of these large projects. For example, a proposed, Wayne County Towns of Galen and Rose (called Rosalen Solar) project is 350 MWs and encompasses 2,000 leased acres. q
By John Shields, PE, Daniel Yanosh, PE, and Marty Muggleton, Regional Business Services Courtesy of HUNT Engineers, Architects, Land Surveyors, and Landscape Architect, DPC
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