BOCES solar expansion advances in Somers

SOMERS, N.Y. - Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES has cleared several hurdles in its bid for a Tier 3 solar energy project at its main campus, part of which is located in Somers.

After holding a public hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 10, the Town Board unanimously approved the educational organization’s request for a zoning map amendment that would apply a “floating zone” to approximately 11.8 acres of BOCES property off Moseman Avenue and Pinesbridge Road.

It also approved a “negative declaration” under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). This means that the project has been determined to have no significant impact on the environment.

In April, PNWBOCES announced the formation of a Sustainability Committee, which it tasked with making the campus “greener, healthier, and more energy-efficient for students and staff alike.”

Among the initiatives the committee is championing are a “cutting-edge” hydroponics curriculum at BOCES’ Fox Meadow High School in Jefferson Valley and sourcing local food for school meals.

Using solar energy to help both the environment and cut costs is first and foremost.

To do that, PNWBOCES has entered into an Energy Performance Contract (EPC) with an outside contactor.

The idea is to pay for the $21 million project with savings in energy costs

Such contracts usually just involve buildings, but in this case, a solar array is “part of that,” noted PNWBOCES Superintendent Neil Boyle, who lives in Somers.

Accompanying Boyle at the Dec. 10 hearing were legal counsel David Shaw, engineer John Sanborn of Johnson Controls, and architect John Cirilli.

Boyle told the board that the commissioner of the New York State Education Department has signed off on the scope of work and all the permits.

Councilman Anthony Cirieco asked Boyle what the “value” of such project would be.

Boyle said PNWBOCES spends between $800,000 to $1 million a year on energy costs -- spread out over both BOCES campuses.

PNWBOCES is replacing about 2,500 lights, more than 1,000 doors and windows, and is redoing “every faucet” to make them more efficient.

Besides the so-called solar “farm,” there will be solar panels erected over a walkway at one of its buildings.

PNWBOCES will take an 18-year loan out and pay off the capital project’s cost by using anticipated energy savings.

Boyle noted that 5 percent of the solar array’s infrastructure has to be installed by the end of December in order for PNWBOCES to get $2.9 million in “federal incentives.”

He anticipated that the 3.8-megawatt solar array part of the multi-year capital project will be completed by next August.

According to Sanborn, school districts generally pay for projects such as these two ways; one, they could go to the taxpayers for money, or two, they can enter into an EPC.

Town Supervisor Robert Scorrano said Wednesday that residents were entitled to know what was going on.

The town has been allowed to review the plans, he said, thanking BOCES for its willingness to collaborate.

The site has already been cleared. That’s OK, officials say, because the property belongs to PNWBOCES. The difference is, it needed the floating zone in order to go ahead and build the solar array.

“These improvements are positive, but then again they don’t remove the town’s responsibility to ensure that the project is safe, compliant, and appropriate for the town of Somers. That’s why we’re here having these discussions,” Scorrano said.

Somers supports the schools and renewal energy, he said, noting that he’s posted videos of himself in which he addressed “clean energy” and “smart growth” but maintained both must be “practical, responsible, and locally informed.”

The array would be located within an R-120 zone.

The town earlier this year adopted a “floating zone” for solar projects – but only for schools and educational institutions.

The purpose of this, Scorrano said, was to give those entities “a clear pathway” to propose solar projects while retaining town “oversight.”

“This is how local government is supposed to function,” he said, claiming to be a “big protector of home rule.”

Therefore, it was important for the town and the BOCES team to work together in order to “hold the line of safety and avoid unnecessary conflicts,” Scorrano said, referencing a major battery energy storage system (BESS) project proposed in Mahopac, just “across the border.”

(That project -- vigorously protested by Somers and other residents and the town – ultimately didn’t happen.)

Reassuring folks who might fear the PNWBOCES solar project was going to include a BESS, Scorrano emphasized that that was a “hard NO.”

Somers’s revamped town code says that BESS are not a “permitted use” and “we’re going to hold true to that,” he said.

“We’ve been consistent from the beginning. Safety comes first,” intoned Scorrano, who also wanted residents to know this is “not anti-solar, this is now anti-school, this is pro-process, pro-safety, and pro-home rule.”

It was important to get everything out there so the public understands how the project benefits Somers and PNWBOCES, he concluded.

“Floating zones” and spot zoning are NOT the same.

The former is a legitimate planning tool where a future zoning use is established but not yet mapped while the latter is the often-illegal practice of changing a single property’s zoning to a use inconsistent with the surrounding area, usually to the owner’s benefit and not the community’s.

VISIBILITY, LONGEVITY

Other topics touched on included the longevity of the physical structure, access roads, signage, noise, and remediation work to screen the solar array from neighboring properties and passing motorists.

Sanborn said the “useful life” of the panels themselves is about 25 years, but when technology improves or changes – as it does – PNWBOCES can replace them when needed.

The solar project will also serve as a living classroom for PNWBOCES’s urban forestry and electrical tech students.

It’s also been working with Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Center for Environmental Education with regards to tree removal and re-planting as well as wildlife protection, Boyle said, pointing out that turkey and deer frequent the property.

“It’s admirable that the next generation will learn about the environment firsthand. That says a lot about what you guys are doing there,” Scorrano told the PNWBOCES team.