BATAVIA — Another solar energy project was before town planners for a public hearing Tuesday — this one a 1.65-megawatt project proposed for 99 Med Tech Dr.
Batavia Solar LLC is applying for a 5.63-acre Community Solar system on 7.95 acres of vacant land. Jim Taravella, the engineer on the project, said the ground-mounted system would include installing about 4,500 modules. The array will be 8 feet high at its highest point, Taravella said.
“We’re not going to dig up the ground to install foundations. At the end of the project’s life cycle, we’ll take the panels out, recycle them ... and do any touch-up work that needs to be done,” he said.
The proposed site is next to the Wood residence.
“Have they been notified about this coming in?” East Main Street resident Tim Morrow asked.
Taravella said Batavia Solar has been in contact and discussions with the Wood family. Bob and Michelle Wood are the property owners who live there.
Morrow asked if a berm and trees will be put in to make the site look more natural.
Taravella said at this early stage, Batavia Solar has not put in anything to screen the project, but that it’s typical for a screening plan to be used as a project progresses.
“What we typically like to do when we’re abutting a neighbor ... we’ll communicate to them the type of screening and work with them to develop something that they’ll be happy with,” he said. “I appreciate when people come to us early and say, ‘Hey, can you make this screening?’ I’m always willing to accommodate what they wish. We’ve been working with them and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that they’re happy with the end result ...”
Michelle Wood said she and Bob would like a berm along the back of the project site to protect them and their house.
“We’re OK and in favor of it being a solar farm there,” she said. “When it was being looked at for other uses, we would prefer it being a solar farm versus a cement-industrial building there. We just would like to have them come to us with what their ideas are and what they’re planning to do.”
Morrow asked about College Road (Assemblyman R. Stephen Hawley Drive).
“That’s all been natural ... We’ve got trees, woods, fence lines. Is there anything going along College Road?” he asked.
Town of Batavia Building Inspector Dan Lang said he wanted everyone on Tuesday’s Zoom call to know that the town has and will always require certain specifications for solar, one of them being a decomissioning bond.
“Also, the town Planning Board, throughout every solar farm we’ve done thus far, has required and requested trees, berms, and we try to get it as natural as possible in accordance with our code,” Lang said. “What we also do is we require certain plantings of vegetation to be placed underneath every solar panel for any solar project that we have that will help increase the bee population for farming purpose.
“This is obviously not a site plan review or a special use permit. That’s not being addressed tonight,” Lang said. “Hopefully to just clear up some questions that may be asked, we always have required that and our intent is always to require that to be as naturally screened as possible when they’re doing solar farms in the town of Batavia.”
Planning Board Chair Kathy Jasinski said the board is just being introduced to this project.
“We have not had time to talk about it. We haven’t set our ideas, what we’re looking for and we certainly agree with Dan Lang. It’s going to take some time. This isn’t going through tonight,” she said.
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