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.
Currently, we are starting the comprehensive application process required by New York's Article 10 regulations. The application will include studies of wildlife, noise, visual impacts, shadows, wetlands, geology, archaeology, historic structures, economic benefits and many other topics required by state regulations. In parallel with the Article 10 certification process, we are working continually to discuss the project with stakeholders and landowners interested in participating in the Project, and refining the project design.
We are exploring various ways of co-locating agriculture with the solar array to maintain the land as productive farmland while harvesting solar energy for electricity at the same time. We will develop a plan detailing these options as part of the public review process.
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 50% 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 50%, 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
Why Livingston and Monroe Counties?
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.
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.
Land
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.