About The Project
Updates & Events
Spring 2018
- Invenergy began development of Horseshoe Solar in 2018 and is working to obtain necessary permits and agreements to support a 2020 construction start.
October 2018
- Horseshoe Solar's PIP, or Public Involvement Plan, was published and sent to stakeholders of the project. Copies are available on this website and at any Article 10 repositories (outlined in the "Documents" section of this website). All future Article 10 materials for Horseshoe may also be found at these sites.
November 2018
- The first revision of the Horseshoe Solar PIP was published and distributed in response to feedback given on the original PIP filing.
February 2019
- The second revision of the Horseshoe Solar PIP was published and distributed in response to additional feedback given on the document and first revision of the PIP.
March 2019
- The PSS, or Preliminary Scoping Statement, for Invenergy's Horseshoe Solar project was submitted to the state for review and distributed to stakeholders.
- On March 20th Invenergy's New York team hosted 2 Open houses in Caledonia, NY. The event was staffed with 11 people, a mix of Invenergy employees and consultants collaborating on the project. With over 140 attendees the events were a tremendous success!
April 2019
- April 30th, Invenergy's New York team hosted 2 open houses in Rush, NY. The even twas staffed with 14 people, a mix of Invenergy employees and consultants collaborating on the project. We were pleased that over 140 people came out to attend these two events at the William Udicious Pavilion.
July 2019
- July 13, Invenergy hosted two tours of solar farms in Geneva, NY that are currently grazed by sheep.
October 2019
- October 10, Invenergy published updated figures in its Preliminary Scoping Statement.
November 2019
- Invenergy opened an office at 3158 State Street Caledonia, NY with local staff to provide area residents a place to look at project information and ask questions.
December 2019
- December 10, Invenergy hosted two additional open houses at the project office in Caledonia. We were pleased that over 85 people attended.
July 2020
- Invenergy filed an application under Article 10 case # 18-F-0633
December 2020
- Invenergy filed a supplement to support its Application under Article 10 case # 18-F-0633
September 2020
- Invenergy conducted a virtual forum to continue informing the public
April-June 2021
- Additional material was filed to support Invenergy's Application under Article 10 case #18-F-0633
June 2021
- On June 30, 2021, the Siting Board determined that the Application is in compliance with requirements of Public Service Law (PSL) § 164
November 2021
- October 29, 2021, 2021, HSS filed with the Secretary of the Public Service Commission, a letter providing notice of Applicant’s intent to submit a Transfer Application to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) to transition the permitting process from Article 10 to the process established pursuant to Section 94-c of the NYS Executive Law (Section 94-c) and its implementing regulations (19 NYCRR Part 900)
Economic Benefits
In the first 20 years of project operation, Horseshoe Solar is projected to pay millions of dollars in property taxes, lease payments to landowners, salaries to employees, and payments for local goods and services, resulting in a significant increase in economic activity in Livingston County. Benefits to schools, town, and county governments will be realized from annual payments made under a payment-in-lieu-of-tax (PILOT) agreement.
annually
annually
Why New York?
New York has set ambitious targets to generate up to 70% of its electricity from renewable sources and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030. New York is starting with a significant base of renewable energy generation. Using sources such as hydropower, solar, and wind, New York percentage of renewable energy generation was 20% in 2010 and 22% in 2013. To reach 70%, New York plans to encourage installation of more wind, solar, and renewable generation and improved efficiency to reduce electricity consumption.
As of March 2018, over 1200 MW of solar energy was operating in New York, generating enough electricity to power over 200,000 New York households. This generation offsets the need to import or burn other fuels, helping to reduce fuel prices and air emissions.
Solar energy and other renewable energy projects generate substantial economic benefits for New York. According to NYSEIA, there are more than 9,000 solar jobs in NY, and solar energy projects have invested over $3.5 billion dollars in New York businesses, landowners, and municipalities.
Solar Benefits New York
- Total Investment: Solar developers like Invenergy have invested over $3.5 billion in New York
- Solar Industry Employment: The solar industry employs over 9,000 people in New York
- Solar Manufacturing Facilities: 88 facilities in New York produce electrical components utilized by the solar industry
Permitting
Section 94-c was enacted in April of 2020 under the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES), a division of the NYS Department of State, in order to streamline and expedite the permitting process. The 94-c process is meant to replace the previous Article 10 process for solar facilities with capacities greater than 25 MW. The complete regulations can be found on the ORES website.
Since the passing of 94-c, projects previously filed under Article 10 had the opportunity to transfer their application to the 94-c process. Horseshoe Solar Energy LLC initiated the transfer from Article 10 to 94-c in October 2021.
After submittal of the 94-c application, there is a 30-day window in which individuals may request funding from the Local Agency Account. Within 60 days of the application submittal, the completeness of the application will be determined, and within the 60 days following that a draft permit will be issued. Once the draft permit is issued, there is a 60-day comment period in which the host community will issue a statement of compliance. Depending on the outcome of the comment period, the adjudicatory process may commence. Within one year of the application is determined to be complete, the final permit decision will be issued.
Local Agency Fund
Under 94-c, local agencies and community intervenors may apply for funds for each project to mitigate expenses for review of the proposed projects environmental, public health, and safety impacts. Within thirty (30) days after the deadline for requests for funds from the local agency account, the judge assigned to the case shall award local agency funds, to local agencies and potential community intervenors whose requests comply with the provisions of subdivision (h) of this section, so long as use of the funds will contribute to a complete record leading to an informed permit decision as to the appropriateness of the site and the facility, and for local agencies, shall include the use of funds to determine whether a proposed facility is designed to be sited, constructed and operated in compliance with applicable local laws and regulations. Local agencies and community intervenors must submit their request for funding within 30 days of the project’s application to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting.
Benefits for Host Communities
Horseshoe Solar is an unparalleled development opportunity for the host towns, with millions to be invested in the local economy over the life of the project. After careful evaluation, we selected this area for the project because of:
- Existing transmission lines, minimizing the need for new infrastructure;
- Landowner interest and community support;
We take our commitment to our local host community seriously and look forward to continuing to work closely with Caledonia and Rush, the host towns in Livingston and Monroe Counties, contributing to the area's economic development, and to providing an additional supply of clean, homegrown energy in New York. We disclose any potential conflicts of interest between landowners and municipal officers for transparency.
Agriculture
Solar farms have a light impact on farmland. Topsoil is left in place during construction and protected from erosion for the life of the project. When the project is decommissioned, the farmland will be returned to production after a rejuvenating rest for the soil, much like the Conservation Reserve Program of the USDA, which has been storing carbon in resting farmland across the US for decades.
Decommissioning
New York State requires the creation of a Decommissioning Plan and accompanying fund for use in the unlikely event that a solar project must be taken down before the end of its useful life. The establishment of a decommissioning fund ensures that the cost of decommissioning the project would never be borne by the landowners or town.
Environmental Benefits
To avoid and minimize impacts to wildlife and other natural resources, we work with state and federal agencies and other interested stakeholders to site, build, and operate our facilities responsibly. This includes robust pre-construction wildlife and habitat surveys, early and often communication with wildlife agencies, and operational monitoring to ensure risk to wildlife is minimized. We are investigating grazing sheep as a grounds maintenance method to preserve the agricultural land use.