Greene County building solar farm-- why not Dutchess?...

Hi all...

Check out this from MidHudsonNews.com today!...

"First Commercial Solar Farm in New York To Be Built in Greene County"
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2010/July/27/Cnrstn_solfm-27Jul10.html

[scroll down just a bit to read actual article itself]

Why the heck can't our County Legislature get our Industrial Development Agency here to make this happen in Dutchess?...

No reason at all whatsoever...

Earlier today I submitted a resolution to our County Legislature's offices for exactly this to happen asap; send a letter to all 25 of us at countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us if you agree!...

Joel
444-0599/876-2488
joeltyner@earthlink.net

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2010 American Lung Association of New York State of the Air Report
http://www.lungusa.org/associations/states/new-york/state-of-the-air-2010-1.html

"Hinchey: Unemployment Benefits Should Never Have Stopped" by Craig Wolf [PoJo 7/24]
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20100724/NEWS01/7240334/Hinchey-Unemployment-benefits-should-never-have-stopped

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WHEREAS, the Poughkeepsie Journal reported July 24th that "joblessness remains high; Dutchess County's rate in June was 7.4 percent"; thousands of Dutchess County families are still struggling to make ends meet in the current economy without enough jobs available, and

WHEREAS, for the second year in a row the American Lung Association of New York has rated Dutchess County air quality an "F"; there are over 39,000 Dutchess County residents who have emphysema, bronchitis, or asthma as well, and

WHEREAS, the more power we get from non-polluting sources like solar energy, the cleaner our air will be, and the more county tax dollars will be saved on Medicaid costs treating emphysema, bronchitis, and asthma, and

WHEREAS, Germany has twenty-five percent less sunlight than New York, but solar panels all over the country; solar energy is quite viable here and now in New York State and Dutchess County, and

WHEREAS, the Greene County Industrial Development Agency and CornerStone Power Development recently announced they are partnering to build the state’s first commercial solar farm on over 120 acres of land adjacent to the CSX rail line and the Central Hudson transmission power line on Farm to Market Road in Coxsackie, and

WHEREAS, the Greene County Industrial Development Agency will own the land, and CornerStone will lease it translating into 25 to 30 construction jobs for a year and five to six full-time workers when operational, and

WHEREAS, the Greene County project will also mean a significant tax boost for the county; it has a current agricultural exemption and it generates about $1,100 a year; if that were to increase by three percent per year for the next 25 years, that property would generate about $45,000 in total taxes; under this project and the plan expected to be implemented, that number would go to $2.6 million providing incredibly valuable new revenue to local taxing jurisdictions, and

WHEREAS, the power from the Greene County facility will be provided to end users in New York through pre-negotiated power purchase agreements, and therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature urges the Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency and Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation to help facilitate solar farms in Dutchess County similar to Greene County, and be it further

RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency and Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation.

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From http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2010/July/27/Cnrstn_solfm-27Jul10.html ...

First commercial solar farm in New York to be built in Greene County

COXSACKIE – The Greene County Industrial Development Agency and CornerStone Power Development Monday announced they are partnering to build the state’s first commercial solar farm on over 120 acres of land adjacent to the CSX rail line and the Central Hudson transmission power line on Farm to Market Road in Coxsackie.

The IDA will own the land and CornerStone will lease it translating into 25 to 30 construction jobs for a year and five to six full-time workers when operational.

IDA Executive Director Sandy Mathes said the project will also mean a significant tax boost for the county.

‘It has a current agricultural exemption and it generates about $1,100 a year. If we were to increase that by three percent per year for the next 25 years, that property would generate about $45,000 in total taxes,” he said. “Under this project and the plan that we expect to implement, that number would go to $2.6 million providing incredibly valuable new revenue to our taxing jurisdictions.”

The power from the facility will be provided to end users in the metropolitan New York area through pre-negotiated power purchase agreements.