Hecate Energy wins siting permit for 500-MW solar farm in New York

Chicago-based renewables company Hecate Energy announced on Tuesday that its 500-MW Cider Solar Farm project in the state of New York, touted as the largest one of its kind in the Empire State, has been awarded a siting permit.

The company’s application was greenlighted by the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) and is the first one being cleared by the newly established office under the Section 94-c rules for large-scale renewable energy generation projects. Previously, such projects were reviewed according to Article 10 siting proceedings.

Hecate Energy plans to build the Cider Solar Farm on a nearly 3,000-acre (1,214-ha) site in the towns of Elba and Oakfield in Genesee County, expecting the project to require an investment of some USD 500 million (EUR 488.5m). The developer estimates that 495 full-time jobs will be created during the construction phase, which is due to be launched by 2023.

Once fully operational, the photovoltaic (PV) park will be capable of producing around 920,000 MWh of electricity annually, or enough to supply over 120,000 average homes in New York.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.977)

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