 |
|||
|
For Immediate Release: 10/19/21 Rory M. Christian, Chair Contact:
James Denn | James.Denn@dps.ny.gov | (518) 474-7080
21106 / 17-F-0598
October 19, 2021
|
|||
Virtual Public Statement Hearings To Be Held on North Side Energy Center’s Application to Build Solar Farm |
|||
ALBANY — The New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment (Siting Board) announced that it will hold virtual public statement hearings on Tuesday, October 26, 2021, regarding the application of North Side Energy Center, LLC (North Side) for authority to construct and operate a solar farm in St. Lawrence County. The project would have a generating capacity of 180 megawatts and would be located on approximately 2,200 acres in the Towns of Massena, Brasher, and Norfolk.
The application consists of a filing made on February 19, 2021, and supplemental filings made on May 27, 2021, and July 2, 2021. The project would consist of commercial-scale solar arrays, access roads, buried and/or overhead electric collection lines, a collection substation, and electrical interconnection facilities. The project will include a 115-kilovolt (kV) switchyard which will be transferred to the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to own, operate, and maintain. The proposed point of interconnection will be NYPA’s existing Massena – Moses 230 kV transmission line and substation. The project would be located on land owned by North Side or leased from owners of private property. The height of the solar panels in the project array will be approximately 15 feet.
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that public statement hearings will be held virtually before the assigned Administrative Law Judges, as follows:
Those wishing to comment on any aspect of the project or this proceeding will have the opportunity to make a statement on the record at the virtual public statement hearings. Any person wishing to provide a public statement must register in advance of the hearings.
To register electronically: Participants who would like to provide a statement and will login to a hearing electronically may register to do so by visiting www.webex.com by 5:00 P.M. on Monday, October 25, 2021. From the Webex homepage, registrants should click “Join a Meeting” at the top right-hand corner of the screen, enter the appropriate event number listed above, and provide all requested information.
On the appropriate date and time of the hearing, please visit www.webex.com to log in to the hearing, click “Join a Meeting” at the top right-hand corner of the screen, and input the appropriate event number for the hearing. (You may need to “refresh” the WebEx home page if the “Join” button does not at first appear). 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 participants to enter their phone numbers.
To register by phone: Any participant who is not able to login to a hearing electronically may participate by phone. Call-in participants wishing to provide a statement may register to do so by calling (800) 342-3330 by 5:00 P.M. on Monday, October 25, 2021, where they should follow prompts to the appropriate hearing and provide the following information: first and last name, address, and phone number.
On the appropriate date and at the time of a hearing, all call-in users should dial (518) 549-0500 and enter the relevant access code listed above.
All participants will be muted upon entry into the hearing. The Administrative Law Judges overseeing the hearings will call on each person who has asked to make a statement. Each public statement hearing will be held open until everyone who has registered to speak has been heard or other reasonable arrangements to submit comments into the record have been made. Time limits may be set for each speaker, as necessary. It is recommended that lengthy comments be submitted in writing and summarized for oral presentation. A verbatim transcript of the hearings will be made for inclusion in the record of this case.
To listen to the hearing: Any person who would like to listen to the hearing without making a statement may access the hearing without pre-registering. The hearings will be livestreamed on the internet and available for viewing on the Department of Public Service YouTube channel on the date and at the times listed above. To access the YouTube channel, visit the Department’s website, www.dps.ny.gov, and click on the YouTube icon at the bottom of the homepage. In addition, any person without internet access may listen to the hearings by phone by calling (518) 549-0500 and entering the applicable access code listed above.
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 of Public Service at (800) 342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this notice.
Other Ways to Comment: Those who prefer not to present comments at a public statement hearing may provide comments in several other ways.
Internet or Mail: Go to www.dps.ny.gov, then click on “Search” and enter “17-F-0598” in the “Search by Case Number” field, and then click on “Post Comments” at the top right of the page; or send comments by email to the Secretary to the Siting Board at secretary@dps.ny.gov.
Alternatively, comments may be mailed to the Hon. Michelle L. Phillips, Secretary, New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350.
Toll-Free Opinion Line: You may call the Siting Board’s Opinion Line at (800) 335-2120. This number is set up to take comments about pending cases from in-State callers, 24- hours a day. These comments are not transcribed verbatim, but a summary is provided to the Siting Board. All submitted comments should refer to “Case 17-F-0598.” All written comments will become part of the record considered by the Siting Board and may be accessed on the Department of Public Service website by searching the case number, as described above, and clicking on the “Public Comments” tab. Although comments will be accepted throughout the pendency of this proceeding, public comments are requested by no later than February 1, 2022, in order to ensure timely consideration by the parties and the Siting Board. |
|||
|
###
|
|||