ALBANY — The New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment (Siting Board) today announced it will hold a public statement hearing in the Town of Sharon (Schoharie County) to receive comments on the East Point Energy Center, LLC (East Point) proposal to build and operate a 50-megawatt  photovoltaic solar electric generating facility in the Town of Sharon, Schoharie County. The project would consist of commercial-scale arrays of solar PV generating panels connected by underground, and possibly overhead, electric collection lines that would generate electricity supplied to the State’s bulk electric transmission system. The project would interconnect with the existing Sharon-Marshville 69-kV transmission line, which is owned by National Grid.

Opportunities for public information and comment will be held, as follows:

At the informational forum, the examiners will provide an overview of the Siting Board's certification process and the developer will present a brief summary of the proposed project. A map of the proposed project area will be available for viewing. Members of the public will then have an opportunity to pose questions about the process and the certificate application pending before the Siting Board.

At the public statement hearing, any person wishing to provide a public statement must complete a request card and the examiners will use the request cards to call each person who has requested to provide a statement on the record. Reasonable time limits may be set for each speaker as necessary to afford all attendees an opportunity to be heard. Lengthy comments may be submitted in writing and summarized for oral presentation. A transcript of the hearing will be made for inclusion in the record of this case.

Persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations should call the Department of Public Service’s Human Resources Management Office at (518) 474-2520 as soon as possible. TDD users may request a sign language interpreter by placing a call through the New York Relay Service at 711. Individuals with difficulty understanding or reading English are encouraged to call the Department at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this notice.

The application may be reviewed online at the Siting Board web page (http://www.dps.ny.gov/SitingBoard), by following the link to “Projects Under Review,” on the left side of the page. Many libraries offer free Internet service.

Other Ways to Comment

For those who cannot attend or prefer not to speak at a public statement hearing, there are several other ways to provide your comments to the Siting Board. Comments should refer to “Case 17-F-0599.” Although comments will be accepted throughout the pendency of this proceeding, they are requested by no later than June 30, 2020.

Via the Internet or Mail: The public may enter comments directly into the case file from the Department of Public Service website, www.dps.ny.gov, by clicking on "Search" at the top of the page and then entering “17-F-0599” into the “Search by Case Number” field. In the open case, access the screen to enter comments by clicking on the "Post Comments" box at the top right of the page. Comments may also be submitted electronically to the Hon. Michelle L. Phillips, Secretary, at secretary@dps.ny.gov, or by mail or delivery to Secretary Phillips at the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350. All written comments will become part of the record considered by the Siting Board and can be read on the website by searching by the case number, as described above, and clicking on the “Public Comments” tab.

Toll-Free Opinion Line: Individuals may choose to submit comments by calling the Department of Public Service’s Opinion Line at 1-800-335-2120. This line is set up to receive in-state calls 24-hours a day. These calls are not transcribed but a summary is provided to the presiding Examiners, who will report to the Siting Board.