FORMAL PROPOSAL DUE IN MONTH
Solar Developer Brings
Good, Less-Good News
Mega-solar developer Ryan Storke, in center of top photo, brought good news in the form prospective revenues in an introductory presentation about a 3,500-acre (2 miles-by-2 miles) solar farm his Storke Renewables LLC is planning around West Laurens when he spoke to the Laurens Town Board (Supervisor Dean Buccheri is in maroon shirt at left) for the first time tonight. He reported the State of New York has determined such projects will pay a minimum $2,500 per megawatt hour in annual PILOTS (payments in lieu of taxes) to local taxing entities. That’s $875,000 on the 3,500 solar panels Storke’s company hopes to install. Less good, perhaps, was the answer county Rep. Rick Brockway, R-Laurens, received when he asked if “all we will see will be black panels from West Laurens to Morris?” Storke replied with a simple, “yes.” Inset, farmer Gary Lull grilled Storke on benefits to local property owners. Not only is the developer offering $1,000 per acre per year leases, he was told, it will pay any additional taxes that might result from a property being reclassified from agricultural to commercial, and is required by the state to post a bond to clean up the area after 30 years. Storke said this was a preliminary meeting, and he will be back on the second Monday of next month with a more formal proposal to the town board. (Jim Kevlin/AllOTSEGO.com)
