Community Solar near the Birthplace of Hydroelectric Power: Town of Grand Island in Erie County, NY

Niagara Falls is the home of the first hydroelectric power plant in the world, designed by Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse and completed in 1896. Today, power from this abundant energy resource continues to go into New York State’s electric grid, but electricity generated from natural gas and nuclear power plants still provide about 2/3 of the total amount.1 To reduce its impact on the environment as well as lower residents’ energy costs, the nearby Town of Grand Island is building community solar projects which will supply nearly all of its power requirements, thus reducing the need for fossil fuel generation.

Grand Island is situated in the Niagara River, which is actually a strait that flows north from Lake Erie, over Niagara Falls, and on to Lake Ontario. The NYS Thruway route to Niagara Falls from Buffalo goes through Grand Island, crossing bridges at the island’s south and north ends. The west side of the island faces Ontario, Canada, from a former parkway, recently re-purposed as a bike and walking trail. The east side faces industrial and residential areas in the city of Buffalo. The island’s population is about 20,000, and aside from clusters of suburban homes, hasa mainly rural character. There are two state parks on the Island—Beaver Island, a popular picnicand swimming spot for Western New Yorkers, and Buckthorn, a wildlife refuge. Supervisor Nathan McMurray calls Grand Island “a gem! It’s an island the size of Manhattan between Canada and the US, right before the edge of the Falls. We have hundreds of acres of trails and forests and are building and protecting more open space.”

McMurray was elected in 2015 to his first term as Grand Island Supervisor. In his campaign, he had promised to pursue renewable energy, and solar power seemed to make the most sense for his community. It took a year, but working with Town Board member Beverly Kinney, an advocate for solar power and renewable energy, and the Town Attorney, a solar law was crafted.The proposed law2, which became a prototype for communities across the state, was unanimously approved by the Grand Island Town Board. It also received widespread support from local and state agencies, particularly the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) as well as the solar development community. The intent ofthe law was to give solar providers a level playing field and to instill confidence that their planned investments in this form of renewable energy could be approved.

Many island residents wanted to have green energy in the community, so their support was key to the projects’ approval, despite some skeptics who were fearful that it was dangerous, would toxify the soil, and would even cause fires and then blow up the fire trucks that came to put out the fires! A lot of the groundwork to make the approvals successful was educating the public about solar power, and it was important that citizens were willing to come to meetings and speak up in support when the going got tough. Supervisor McMurray describes his strategy this way: “In my view, on this and many issues there are the saints, the sinners and the fence sitters. You can’t do much to win over the sinners so you have to involve the saints and then work on the

1 https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=NY#tabs-12 Text of Grand Island solar law: http://www.grandislandny.us/Laws/Grand%20Island%20solar%20Law.012717.pdf

fence sitters by giving them the facts.”

Blue Rock Solar proposed a solar farm on two sites, one along the Thruway and the other in an old vacant industrial park. Grand Island Town Board approved those two projects, which are stillunder construction, and then got more ambitious and recently approved a third project, which is one of the largest community solar projects in NYS, to be constructed by Solar Park Energy. Throughout the approval process, Town Board members and the supervisor worked closely with the Conservation Advisory Board, the Economic Development Advisory Board and the Town Planning Board. The Conservation Advisory Board suggested that the projects have pollinator gardens under the panels; this will be the first of its kind they are aware of in the state. Under the provisions of New York State law, the Conservation Advisory Board has been and will continue to be more involved in all Island development projects. The new site will be on a 40 acre parcel that was originally planned as new residential development.

Community solar projects are remotely sited installations that allow residents to subscribe to the energy generated as if the solar panels were installed on their homes. Subscribers receive credits and discounts of 5% to 10% on their electricity bills and may even be able to lock in current low prices for up to 20 years, yet do not have to pay any upfront costs or fees to install and maintain equipment. The projects are not paid for out of town funds, either, as the costs of installation are financed by the solar developer in return for incentives from state and federal governments and payments from subscribers for the electricity generated.

Thomas Guzek, managing partner of Solar Park Energy, explains how the funding works. “First of all, the Federal Government Investment Tax Credit for renewable energy properties allows fora 30% tax credit ... for solar energy projects.” In addition, through NY Sun, NYSERDA provides additional incentives which cover community solar projects and greatly assist in the ability to attract private investment capital for the remaining costs of project development.

One of the main costs of constructing a major solar project is the cost of construction and labor. Solar Park Energy has committed to hiring local union workers through the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which ensures that a substantial part of the investment stays within the region. The projected energy savings of the currently planned projects is 50-60 megawatts, according to McMurray, which almost equals the energy consumption of Grand Island so it will be Net Zero fossil based energy. He also mentions the town’s future plans to include wind. “There is a “glamping” place (a luxury campground) that wants to power its yurts and cabins with a small wind tower. There has been a massive backlash and some of the anti-wind arguments we are hearing are as ridiculous as the ones we heard about solar.”

Supervisor McMurray’s advice to other municipal leaders about developing renewable energy in their communities is to “be fearless and understand you may take some hits. Do the right thing.” For Grand Island, the most important effects of the community solar installations are to give residents the opportunity to buy solar energy for their homes that will save them money on their utility bills, all the while helping to hold the line on climate change.

“The town can be proud that it attaches itself to cutting edge projects such as pollinator gardens combined with solar energy,” McMurray says. “We are looking into putting a sign on the

Thruway to show [the 30 million tourists who visit Niagara Falls every year] how many megawatts are being generated in real time. Everyone will see our solar arrays. What a contrast to the shut-down Huntley coal plant across the river. It will show that Grand Island is oriented to the future of energy.”

For details on these projects, contact the supervisor’s Administrative Aide, Emily Wynne, at ewynne@grand-island.ny.us.

Photos sent by the Town of Grand Island below, used with permission.

Beaver Island State Park (Town of Grand Island, NY)

(Town of Grand Island, NY)

Bridge to Grand Island (M. Scott)

East River Marsh Bird Trail (Paul Leuchner)

Beaver Island State Park (Paul Leuchner)

Ruddy Turnstone and a Group of Dunlins (Paul Leuchner)

Western New York Welcome Center, Town of Grand Island, NY