Press release from BAAS:
On Dec. 10, Byron Association Against Solar members Eric Zuber, Gayla Starowitz and Jim Lamkin led state and local officials on a tour of the proposed Excelsior Solar Project in Byron as indicated by the black line on the Excelsior map (above).
Included on the tour were officials and attorneys from NextEra/Excelsior, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Public Service, the Department of Agriculture, BAAS and the Byron Town Board.
The purpose of the tour was to allow state and town officials to see for themselves the size and scope, and magnitude of the prime farmland acreage that will be covered by solar panels if the NextEra/Excelsior project is approved. These areas are colored “purple” on the attached map.
Local landowners have agreed to lease 3,400 acres of land for 30 years for the project although only about 1,700 acres (in purple) will initially be covered by solar panels, roads, fences, wires, poles, batteries and other related equipment. The landowners, the Byron-Bergen Central School District, Genesee County and the Town of Byron will receive compensation from the project.
We ask that Byron Town residents view the proposed site of the project for themselves by starting at the South Byron Firemen’s Recreation Hall and following the black line on the map. The numbers represent view sites.
It is expected that in early 2022 the project will be reviewed by the New York State Siting Board as part of the Article 10 process. If approved, it is likely that construction will begin in 2022.
