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The regulatory permitting process for large-scale renewable projects has been moved over to the Department of Public Service and is now governed by Article VIII – Siting of Renewable Energy and Electric Transmission. These changes have no major effect on the Harvest Hills Solar Project. The former 94-c regulations have been transferred and continue in full force under Article VIII, and ORES still oversees the permitting process for major renewable energy facilities. For a more detailed explanation, please see below.
Effective April 20, 2024, the Renewable Action through Project Interconnection and Development (RAPID) Act (L 2024, ch 58, part O) repealed Executive Law § 94-c, repealed the current Public Service Law article VIII, and enacted a new Public Service Law article VIII entitled “Siting of Renewable Energy and Electric Transmission” (Article VIII). The RAPID Act also transferred the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) from the Department of State to the Department of Public Service, continuing all existing functions, powers, duties, and obligations related to major renewable energy projects as well as major electric transmission line siting.
With respect to ORES’s regulations at 19 NYCRR part 900, the RAPID Act transfers part 900 to 16 NYCRR chapter XI and continues part 900 in full force and effect subject to conforming changes, such as the substitution of numbering, names, titles, citations, and other non-substantive changes to be filed with the Secretary of State (see RAPID Act §7). The conforming changes were filed with the Secretary of State as a new Part 1100 of Title 16 of the NYCRR and became effective July 17, 2024. Article VIII and the former 19 NYCRR Part 900 (Section 94-c) provide for the State’s consolidated review and permitting process for major renewable energy facilities (25 megawatts or larger).
Article VIII places the review and permitting of such facilities into a single forum, the Office of Renewable Energy and Transmission Siting (ORES). ORES has the authority to issue a single permit for the construction of major renewable energy facilities from both a state and local law perspective. ORES takes into consideration local laws, public health and safety, environmental.
Article VIII places the review and permitting of such facilities into a single forum, the Office of Renewable Energy and Transmission Siting (ORES). ORES has the authority to issue a single permit for the construction of major renewable energy facilities from both a state and local law perspective. ORES takes into consideration local laws, public health and safety, environmental, social and economic factors pertinent in deciding to permit such facilities. ORES has also been given new functions, powers, duties, and obligations related to major electric transmission siting.
Exhibits required as part of an Article VIII Application include:
Once the project is has received its final Siting Permit, there is a three-part compliance phase:
Intervenor funding is money that Applicants (i.e., Repsol Renewables) make available to qualified, locally affected parties and municipalities to offset certain expenses they incur in participating in the state permitting process. These funds are meant to encourage early and effective public involvement in project development and permitting.
In order to formally file papers related to issues of fact and have them considered as part of the evidentiary record, you must be granted full party or amicus status pursuant to Section 1100-8.4 of the Article VIII regulations. The period for filing a petition for party status shall be at least sixty (60) days from the Office of Hearing’s issuance of notice of the public comment hearing. Nonparties who wish to have their comments recorded are permitted to submit oral or written comments during the public comment portion of the proceedings, or as otherwise provided by the ALJ. Such public statements will not constitute evidence in the adjudicatory hearing but may be used by the ALJ as a basis for further inquiries.
To request full party or amicus status, an interested party should file a written petition and complete one of the following two options:
For full party status, interested parties should file a petition that includes:
For amicus party status, interested parties should file a petition that includes:
Stakeholder involvement and consultation are part of an ongoing, evolving process throughout all phases of the Article VIII review process. Repsol Renewables’ goal is to provide information to stakeholders, understand stakeholder interests, identify any additional stakeholders potentially affected by the Harvest Hills Solar Project, solicit information from stakeholders during public outreach events and generally foster public participation in the Article VII review process.
You may access all documents electronically through the links above and on the New York State Department of Public Service’s Document Matter Manager (DMM) system once an entry is established for the Project, or you may access hard copies of the documents at one of the following locations:
1000 Bartnick Road
Genoa, NY 13071
Tuesday 10 am to 5:30 pm;
Thursday 11 am to 6:30 pm
160 Genessee Street
Auburn, NY 13021
Tuesday 4 pm to 7pm; Wednesday 9 am to 12 pm; Thursday 9 am to 12 pm
Other hours available by appointment
To stay up to date about the Harvest Hills Solar Project, please join our stakeholder notification list by filling out the contact form here. You can also call us at or email us at info@harvesthillssolar.com.
1001 McKinney St.
Suite 700
Houston, TX 77002
(866) 221-3842
info@harvesthillssolar.com
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