ALBANY —The New York State Department of Public Service announced the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission (ORES) will hold in-person public comment hearings on January 21 and 22, and two virtual public comment hearings on January 27, 2026, to receive comments on the application and draft permit filed by Hecate Energy Columbia County 1, LLC (Hecate) on December 23, 2024, pursuant to Public Service Law Article VIII to construct and operate a 42-megawatt (MW) solar energy facility known as the Shepherd’s Run Solar Farm located in the Town of Copake, Columbia County. The facility would include, but is not limited to, photovoltaic (PV) solar arrays; inverters; security fencing; access roads; a substation; and a point of interconnection (POI) with the Craryville 115 kilovolt (kV) substation owned by New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG).

Hecate filed the application with ORES on December 23, 2024.  A notice of complete application was issued on September 19, 2025 (see https://dps.ny.gov/ores-permit-applications, click on Project DMM Matter Number 24-03041).  ORES staff published draft permit conditions on November 18, 2025. The draft permit conditions may be accessed at https://dps.ny.gov/ores-permit-applications, click on Project Permit Application Number 24-03041.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that in-person public comment hearings pursuant to 16 NYCRR part 1100 to hear and receive unsworn comments from the public will be held before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) as follows:

All persons, organizations, corporations, or government agencies who may be affected by the facility are invited to attend the hearings and comment on the application and the draft permit conditions. The hearings will continue until everyone wishing to speak has been heard or other reasonable arrangement has been made to include their comments in the record. Lengthy comments will not be accepted and instead should be submitted in writing. Equal weight will be given to both oral and written comments. To ensure that all interested persons have an opportunity to speak, the ALJ may limit the time available for oral comments to three (3) minutes per person. It is not necessary to repeat oral comments at each of the four hearing sessions. The ALJ will give priority to persons who have not spoken at a prior session to assure that all interested persons are heard. The public comment hearing will be transcribed for inclusion in the administrative record.

The hearing location is reasonably accessible to persons with a mobility impairment. Persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations should call the Department of Public Service’s Human Resource Management Office at (518) 473-9463 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 (800) 342-3377 for free language assistance services.

In the event the in-person public comment hearing needs to be canceled, rescheduled, postponed, or conducted virtually, notification of any change will be available at the ORES website at https://dps.ny.gov/ores.

PLEASE FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that virtual public comment hearings will be held before the assigned ALJ as follows:

Any person wishing to provide a public statement on the record during the virtual public statement hearings must register to do so by 12 noon on Monday, January 26, 2026, in accordance with the instructions set forth below.

To register and provide a statement electronically:

This option is for participants who would like to provide a statement and who will log in to a hearing electronically. Participants must register by the date indicated above by visiting the Department website at https://dps.ny.gov/calendar, clicking on the “View DPS Calendar Listings” button under “Calendars” section, scrolling to and clicking on the Hecate Energy Columbia County 1, LLC (Shepherd’s Run Solar) Virtual Public Comment Hearings for the particular hearing date, clicking the “Register” button, and providing all requested information. After registration is complete, registrants will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to join the hearing.

On the day of the hearing, when logging in to participate in the virtual hearing on the appropriate date and time, participants will be asked to “select audio system.” It is recommended that participants opt to have the system “call me” or “call using computer.” The “call me” option will require that participants enter their phone numbers.

To register and provide a statement by phone:

This option is for participants who are not able to log in to a virtual public comment hearing electronically. Call-in participants wishing to make a statement at a virtual public comment hearing must register to do so by the date indicated above by calling 1-800-342-3330, following the prompts to the appropriate hearing, and then providing the following information: first name and last name, address, and phone number.

On the day and time of the virtual public statement hearing, call-in registrants must dial 1-929-251-9612 and enter the access code and phone-in password listed above.

All participants will be muted upon entry into the virtual public comment hearing. The ALJ will call upon each person who has registered to make a statement and will continue each hearing until everyone who has registered to speak has been heard or other reasonable arrangements to submit comments into the record have been made. Reasonable time limits may be set for each speaker as necessary to afford all attendees an opportunity to be heard. It is recommended that lengthy comments be submitted in writing and summarized for oral presentation. A verbatim transcript of each public comment hearing will be made for inclusion in the record of these proceedings.

To listen to the hearings without making a statement:

Any interested person may listen to the hearings by calling 1-929-251-9612 and entering the appropriate access code and phone-in password listed above.

Persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations should call the Department’s Human Resources Management Office at 1-518-473-9463 as soon as possible. TDD users may request a sign language interpreter by placing a call through the New York Relay Service at 711. Persons with difficulty understanding or reading English are encouraged to call the Department at 1-800-342-3377 or email languageaccess@dps.ny.gov for free language assistance services. To request a translator or sign language interpreter so that you can participate at a specific public statement hearing, please contact the Department at least 10 days before the hearing by calling 1-800-342-3377 or emailing your request to languageaccess@dps.ny.gov.