Mount Kisco’s Planning Board has begun the environmental review process for a proposal to build a solar electric generating farm on part of a 25-acre site located at the corner of South Bedford Road and Sarles Street. The developer prepared a document regarding the scope of material to be covered in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The application is from SCS Sarles St. LLC II – Mt. Kisco Community Solar LLC.
Attorney William Null of the White Plains-based law firm Cuddy & Feder told the Planning Board that the proposal involves the installation of a solar farm that would generate 2.6 megawatts of electricity. A megawatt is one million watts of electricity. The solar farm would use approximately 5,400 solar panels that would take up approximately 6.7 acres of the approximately 25-acre site.
“The solar panels will stand no higher than 8 feet and will be enclosed by a perimeter chain-link fence standing 7 feet in height,” Null said. “A 6-inch gap above the ground will be provided to allow space for smaller wildlife to pass below the fencing.”
Null said that the village’s review of the application will be as a public utility use, requiring flexibility in considering whether to grant variances or waivers. A special permit also is being requested.
Null said that the solar panels would be mounted on structural steel frames supported by driven steel piles, with natural low growth and pollinator vegetation around the panels. He said that no new buildings are proposed for the site and that in order to reduce overall impacts there have been some changes to the design from what was initially submitted to the village.
“The Solar Farm operation does not require on-site employees, and personnel activity will be limited to periodic checks and equipment maintenance,” Null said. “The solar panels on the project site have decreased by over 250 panels, reducing the overall development coverage by more than 6,500 square feet.”
Null said that the amount of land that will be disturbed has been reduced to 6.67 acres and the amount of steep slopes that will be disturbed has been reduced to 2.67 acres. The number of trees to be removed also has been cut by more than 80.
The applicant is asking the village to reduce the requirement for a 200-foot buffer from a major road for a portion of the site along South Bedford Road. It cites the location of a cell tower and terrain that would help shield the solar farm from view as justification, pointing to the village’s zoning code as stating that buffers are supposed to “be designed to effectively limit the visibility of the development from surrounding uses.”
Null said, “The layout and design of the Solar Farm Project meets the spirit and intent of the Zoning Code’s 200-foot buffer requirement and amply supports the granting of a waiver from that buffer requirement in the area in which Homeland Towers’ cell tower is situated along the frontage of the project site.”
Null pointed out that the application must be reviewed by Mount Kisco under the Public Utility Standard and that the electricity generated will help New York state meet its goals for generating 70% of the electricity used from renewable energy sources by 2030 and having a 100% zero-emissions grid by 2040.
“Under New York state law, the courts have recognized that in reviewing an application submitted by a Public Utility Use, such as the provision of electricity (including solar facilities), the approving agency must exercise special consideration under local zoning laws, even where such use is not expressly preempted by the state,” Null said. “This ‘special consideration’ recognizes that a public utility provides a necessary public benefit both for the community and for the state.”
Null said that the project site is adjacent to existing utility infrastructure making interconnection to the grid possible without further development. He said that the location has already been reviewed by Con Edison and determined to particularly be well-suited for a solar farm.
