Virtual public hearings have been scheduled by the New York State Board of Electric Generation Siting and the Environment to review a proposed 200-megawatt solar farm in Conquest.
The board will make a final decision on the project application from Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources, with hearings being held on Thursday, February 3 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., according to The Citizen. The proposed Garnet Energy Center would be one of the largest solar facilities in New York.
The hearings come after NextEra filed an updated application, which includes reducing the amount of solar panels planned by 19%, or 152 acres. They also made changed to the scope of the total project, which would now be about 1,900 acres.
The updated plan reduces the amount of mapped wetlands by 99% (from 44 acres to 0.05 acres), streams by 47% (15,737 linear feet to 8,324 feet), and agricultural land (806 acres to 751).
The sitting board has until November 1, 2022 to make their final decision.
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