DRYDEN — Solar Farms New York says a solar farm under construction on Cornell University–owned property in Dryden will generate enough electricity for about 3,000 homes. Crews are building the Cascadilla solar farm on a 125-acre property, Albany–based Solomon Community Solar LLC said in a Feb. 25 news release. Solomon Community Solar does business as […]
DRYDEN — Solar Farms New York says a solar farm under construction on Cornell University–owned property in Dryden will generate enough electricity for about 3,000 homes.
Crews are building the Cascadilla solar farm on a 125-acre property, Albany–based Solomon Community Solar LLC said in a Feb. 25 news release. Solomon Community Solar does business as Solar Farms New York.
The project cost is $40 million and Edison, New Jersey–based Conti Solar is the project manager, Jeffrey Mayer, CEO of Solomon Community Solar LLC, says in an email response to a CNYBJ inquiry.
Solar Farms New York is the company marketing the farm’s electricity to homeowners in Tompkins County.
The firm held a March 1 groundbreaking for the project at 136 Stevenson Road in Dryden, “on the edge of the farm property.”
“We are excited to be working with the Town of Dryden, Cornell University and Tompkins County to help achieve the state’s goal to produce 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2040,” Jeffrey Mayer, CEO of Solar Farms New York, said in a news release. “What’s more, we will be doing it with 100 percent New York sunshine.”
The renewable-energy production will benefit all New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) customers but only members of the farms will see savings from the community-solar program. Solar farms generate electricity that is allocated to homeowners and apartment renters without the need for rooftop panels, Solar Farms said.
Crews are installing more than 79,000 solar panels that will generate more than 30,000 megawatts annually, per Mayer. He expects crews to finish the construction by summer, and members can expect to start receiving credits from NYSEG after that.
“The Cascadilla community solar farm at Cornell University is truly a town-gown achievement,” Sarah Zemanick, director of the campus sustainability office, contended in the release. “It takes the concerted efforts of dozens of people to conceive and pull off a project of this size.”
Close to 2,000 homeowners have already signed up under the company’s community-solar program, Mayer says. The Cascadilla project is among Solar Farms New York’s 36 solar farms throughout the state which will begin to supply solar electricity to NYSEG this year.
“Our customers like the flexibility of joining a solar farm without installing expensive and sometimes unsightly rooftop panels,” he says. “Unlike the 20-year commitment required for solar panels, our customers can cancel any time without penalty.”
About the program
Under New York’s community-solar program, the farms sell their electricity to NYSEG, which will in turn put credits on customer bills. Customers will then pay Solar Farms New York for their electricity.
Solar Farms New York will bill customers 95 percent of the value of the credits they receive from NYSEG, resulting in a 5 percent savings on their solar credits.
Members of the company’s farms “do not” have to enter into long-term contracts, per the release. Memberships are month-to-month and can be cancelled any time without penalty.
Community solar farms are a “rapidly expanding” around the country, supported by utilities which have an “easier time” incorporating solar electricity into their grid when it is produced at a single location and not on hundreds of rooftops.
Customers “benefit too by avoiding high upfront costs, maintenance, and potential roof damage,” Solar Farm New York contends.
Solar farms can offset up to 100 percent of a customer’s bill, “unlike rooftop panels, which help offset [30 to 50 percent] of a household’s electricity usage,” Mayer says.
“For homeowners that want to save money and make a material dent in fossil-fuel emissions, community solar is a convenient and easy alternative,” he adds.
He also stresses that community solar farms are not energy-service companies, or ESCOs, which are third-party suppliers of electricity.
“Customers can still purchase their electricity supply from third parties,” he says, “but whether or not they choose to stay with the utility or sign up with an ESCO they can receive guaranteed monthly savings from our program.”