Possible New Sharon Solar Project

Large solar panels at a facility in the Town of Sharon. A representative from Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure pitched an idea for another new solar facility in the town at a recent Sharon Springs Joint Planning Board meeting.

SHARON SPRINGS _ Adam Rowles tried to plant a seed on ground that might not be too fertile.

Toward the end of the Sharon Springs Joint Planning Board meeting on Wednesday, July 17, the representative from Greenwood Sustainable Infrastructure pitched an idea for a new solar facility at Argusville Road and Route 20 in the Town of Sharon.

Speaking off the cuff without maps or plans or any other written materials, Rowles talked about a facility of possibly 2 MG on 12 acres or4.5 MG on 20 acres.

"It's landlocked so we would need to purchase an adjacent property or an easement on an adjacent property," Rowles said. "At this point it's just an idea. Next time I can bring some materials. There's nothing to present at this moment."

He added he has had some "scattered conversations" with neighbors and that Greenwood is interested in getting community feedback and making whatever project might be built as amenable to the area's public as possible.

However, there have been various complaints about an existing large solar facility not far from the site Rowles was referencing. The reception for his idea at the July 17 meeting was not exactly bubbling over with warmth. Murmurs of "put it somewhere else" could be heard in the audience.

"I can kind of tell you what the community feedback will be," Sharon Springs JPB Chairman Ray Parsons told Rowles.

In other news from the meeting, Parsons announced the resignations of Sharon Springs Joint Planning Board members Shirley Speiler and David Hall. In reading parts of both letters of resignation, Parsons said both Speiler and Hall are stepping down for personal reasons.

Speiler wrote in her letter that she has been working government or government related jobs for about 40 years and  "I am quite frankly burned out." Hall indicated that changes in the nature and hours of his full-time job have made it increasingly difficult for him to attend JPB meetings.

Parsons said replacements for Speiler and Hall will be appointed by either the Town of Sharon or Village of Sharon Springs boards fairly soon.

The JPB also granted a special use permit for Dan Cornwell to start operating a roadside stand selling vegetables just off Route 10 in the Town of Sharon.