RIVERHEAD SOLAR 2 Suffolk County, New York
NOTICE OF SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION
Riverhead Solar 2, LLC (Applicant) is proposing to construct a major electric generating facility under Article 10 of the New York Public Service Law (Facility). This notice announces that on or about June 29th, 2020, the Applicant will file an Application pursuant to 16 NYCRR 1000.6 seeking a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need from the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment (Siting Board) authorizing the construction and operation of the Facility.
The Facility is a proposed solar-powered electric generation project consisting of up to 132.8 acres of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels generating up to 36 megawatts (MW) of electricity to be located in the Town of Riverhead, Suffolk County. The Facility will include solar panels, access roads, inverters, transformers, electrical collection lines, gen-tie line, and temporary construction staging and storage areas. The Facility will interconnect to the existing point of interconnection at the Edwards Ave substation, and additional equipment will be added to the collection substation to support the interconnection of the Facility.
The Facility is a zero-emission solar energy facility that will assist the State in meeting the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and State Energy Plan, which includes obtaining 70% of energy generation from renewable sources by 2030 and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Other positive impacts of the Facility include diversification of energy supplies, new employment opportunities (both temporary construction employment and full-time jobs), and increased revenues to County and local tax bases, payments to the local hospitality industry, and purchase of local supplies and goods. In addition, the Applicant has attempted to minimize impacts to land associated with the Facility by limiting the disturbance to forested lands and wetlands to the maximum extent practicable. However, the construction and operation of the Facility may result in some environmental impacts as more fully described in the Application, including, but not limited to: impacts on terrestrial ecology and impacts to people, including noise, traffic and visual impacts.
Pursuant to the Article 10 process, the Applicant filed a Preliminary Scoping Statement (PSS) on September 14, 2018 with the Siting Board. After the public comment period on the PSS, the Applicant prepared a reply to material comments that was submitted on November 2, 2018. On November 8, 2018, a pre-application conference to consider intervenor funding requests was held and the scoping stipulation process was ordered to commence. On March 10, 2020, the Applicant filed executed stipulations regarding the scope of the Application. The Applicant is now ready to file an Application. The Applicant also intends to submit a request for a Water Quality Certification (WQC) under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act.
The Article 10 regulations outlining the required contents of the Application can be found at 16 NYCRR 1001.1 et seq. The Application includes, among other things: an analysis of the environmental setting of the Facility, a description of the Facility, including preliminary design drawings and related information; copies of reports, studies and plans submitted in support of the Application; an assessment of impacts of construction and/or operation of the Facility relating to land use; consistency with State energy planning objectives, including climate change and renewable energy goals; public health and safety; terrestrial ecology, water resources and aquatic ecology, including wetlands; communications, transportation and utilities; cultural, historical and recreational resources; visual, including glare; sound; electric magnetic fields; and impacts on the statewide electrical system.
Pursuant to the Article 10 process, this notice is being provided in accordance with 16 NYCRR 1000.7, and will be published at least three days prior to the filing of the Application. In addition, a copy of the Application will be served on the Chief Executive Officer of each municipality in which any portion of the Facility is located, as well as those persons and agencies enumerated in 16 NYCRR 1000.6.
Once an Application is filed and determined by the Siting Board to be complete, the Siting Board will schedule a public hearing on the Application. The Siting Board will also issue a notice of availability of application intervenor funds that are available to be used by parties to participate in formal review of the Application. A pre-hearing conference will be scheduled by the Hearing Examiner to identify intervenors, award intervenor funds, identify issues for the hearing, and establish a case
schedule. Additional hearings regarding the application and project impact assessments will be scheduled by the Hearing Examiner as needed. After hearings, the stakeholders may brief their positions and the Hearing Examiner will issue a recommended decision upon which the Siting Board will base its decision. Article 10 requires that all proceedings on the Application, including a final decision by the Siting Board, must be completed within 12 months of when the Application is determined to be complete.
Upon filing the Application, the Applicant will provide funding in the amount of $36,000 to be disbursed by the Siting Board to municipalities and other local parties to help pay expenses, including attorneys and consultants, associated with participating in the Article 10 process during the application review phase. Fifty percent (50%) of these intervenor funds are reserved for municipalities. Following the filing of an Application, the Hearing Examiner or the Secretary will issue a notice of availability of application intervenor funds that provides a schedule and related information describing how interested members of the public may apply for application funds. Requests for application funds must be submitted to the Hearing Examiner within thirty (30) days after the issuance of the notice of the availability of application intervenor funds. Following the submittal of any intervenor funding requests, the Hearing Examiner may schedule a pre-hearing conference to consider fund requests.
The record of this proceeding, including the Application, may be examined during normal business hours at the Offices of the New York State Department of Public Service (DPS) at 3 Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223; and at the following public repositories: Riverhead Free Library, 330 Court Street, Riverhead, NY 11901. Libraries often have free internet access.
Contact Information
Riverhead Solar 2, LLC Michael Farrell
195 Montague Street
14th Floor, Suite 1461 Brooklyn, NY 11201
Tel. No. (855) 561-6212 michael.farrell@spower.com
DPS Article 10 Coordinator
James Denn
NYS Department of Public Service 3 Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12223
Tel. No. (518) 474-7080 james.denn@dps.nygov
The Application will also be available at the DPS website at (http://www.dps.ny.gov/). To access documents, go to “Search” on the top of the webpage and search using the Case Number 17-F-0655 or the direct linkhttp://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterCaseNo=17-F-0655&submit=Search
or by going to the Project-specific website maintained by the Applicant: riverheadsolar2.com
File a Request for Notices
Any interested member of the public may file a request with the DPS Secretary to receive copies of all notices concerning the Project. Written requests should be sent to the DPS Secretary at secretary@dps.ny.gov or sent by mail to the following address:
Honorable Michelle L. Phillips
Secretary to the Siting Board
NYS Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment Empire State Plaza
Agency Building 3
Albany, New York 12223-1350
