Flint Mine Solar slated for 100 megawatts in Coxsackie and Athens
The proposed Flint Mine Solar farm here cleared what is perhaps its last major hurdle Wednesday when the state Public Service Department’s Siting Board lent its approval to the 100 megawatt project.Andrew Aitchison/Corbis via Getty Images
By Rick Karlin, Times Union
COXSACKIE — The proposed Flint Mine Solar farm cleared what is perhaps its last major hurdle Wednesday when the state Public Service Department’s Siting Board lent its approval to the 100-megawatt (MW) project.
Flint Mine had been on track for approval since August 2020 when the Public Service Department found that the plan was “compliant” with guidelines and requirements for such a project. But Wednesday’s decision brought it a step closer to groundbreaking.
“Today’s unanimous approval is a very big step for FMS—after five years of development effort,” Bill Moore, the principal in Hudson Energy Development, which is building the farm. “I think the path forward to a groundbreaking, possibly later this year, is clear.”
Still needed is the specific construction plan and a separate approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. That’s because a small part of the project would be in wetlands under federal jurisdiction.
But even opponents said the project appeared poised to move forward.
“I don’t know what we can do at this point,” said Nancy Harm, a member of Saving Greene, a group worried about the size of this, and other projects, including a 50 MW proposal by Hecate Energy.
All in all, Saving Greene notes that seven solar projects have been proposed for the area around Coxsackie and Athens, where part of the Flint Mine will also be located.
