Guilderland, New York’s Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a 2.375-MW solar project on a capped landfill in Guilderland Center.
In August 2019, Guilderland pledged to be a Climate Smart Community, and approving this solar project is a step toward shifting to renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions.
Cipriani Energy Group and its affiliate Cipriani Construction Corp will begin construction on the solar installation in spring 2022. According to company COO Chris Stroud, the panels will be producing clean, emission-free electricity by mid-2022, and National Grid customers who subscribe to the community solar program affiliated with this project will see an average of 10% reduction on their residential energy bills.
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, signed into law in 2019, requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40% by 2030 and commits to 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040.
Community solar projects create revenue by selling energy shares as subscriptions to local residents, businesses and municipalities. This creates credit or tax benefits on subscribers’ energy bills through energy generated by solar panels at an off-site location.
Guilderland residents expressed support for the Cipriani Energy project, sending letters to the town website, as well as voicing support for the array at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting during the public comment period on October 14. One resident wrote: “Placing a solar array over an existing Brownfield site is just the kind of solar siting we would look forward to now and in the future.”
