Harvest Hills Solar Project

What is Article VIII?

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20, 2024, the Renewable Action through Project Interconnection and Development (RAPID) Act (L 2024, ch 58, part O) repealed Executive Law § 94-c, repealed the current Public Service Law article VIII, and enacted a new Public Service Law article VIII entitled “Siting of Renewable Energy and Electric Transmission”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).

Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES)

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.

94-c Permitting Process

Overview

Community and Agency Engagement: The Article VII process prioritizes early engagement with local municipalities, members of the local communities, state agencies and local municipalities, and encourages input to address any concerns from the public before continuing to allow projects to move forward.
Environmental Considerations: Projects must be designed to avoid or minimize, to the greatest extent practicable, reflecting New York State’s commitment to environmental protection.
Timeline: Article VIII requires that the final decision on a project’s permit be made within one year of the application being completed.
- Once the application is submitted, ORES reviews and issues a Deficiency Notice, which means the applicant must submit additional information where specified. Once ORES deems the application complete, the one-year clock to issue a final decision begins.
Local Law Compliance: Projects are required to comply with substantive provisions of applicable local laws and regulations. ORES can elect not to apply a local law that is unreasonably burdensome in view of CLCPA targets and environmental benefits of the project.

Schedule

Public Engagement

Prior to submitting a permit application, renewable energy projects are required to consult with the host municipalities and communities in which the proposed project will be located.
ORES also requires that state agencies are consulted and subsequently review and approve decisions involving wetland and stream delineations, threatened and endangered species, and archeological and cultural resources, if appropriate. Agency consultations should take place at the earliest point possible in the applicant’s process.
Following consultations with impacted agencies, Article VIII applicants must hold at least one meeting for community members. Notice of the meeting should be provided to community members no sooner than 21 days before the meeting takes place, and no later than 14 days before the meeting takes place. Included in a Article VIII application are copies of meeting transcripts, materials, and discussions. Notice of intent to file an application should be published by the applicant at least 60 days before the application is filed.
Municipalities are notified upon ORES issuance of draft permit conditions and are required to provide feedback on the draft permit conditions and compliance with local laws. In addition, there is a 60-day public comment period following the publishing of the draft permit.
Outside of the Article VIII public comment period and requirements, Harvest Hills Solar is committed to continually engaging with the community and considering input.

Application

Exhibits required as part of an Article VIII Application include:

General Requirements
Overview and Public Involvement
Location of Facilities and Surrounding Land Use
Real Property
Design Drawings
Public Health, Safety and Security
Noise and Vibration
Visual Impacts
Cultural Resources
Geology, Seismology, and Soils
Terrestrial Ecology
NYS Threatened and Endangered Species
Water Resources and Aquatic Ecology
Wetlands
Agricultural Resources
Effect on Transportation
Consistency with Energy Planning Objectives
Socioeconomic Effects
Environmental Justice
Effect on Communications
Electric System Effects and Interconnection
Electric and Magnetic Fields
Site Restoration and Decommissioning
Local Laws and Other Ordinances
Other Permits and Approvals

Compliance

Once the project is has received its final Siting Permit, there is a three-part compliance phase:

Pre-Construction Compliance Filings – filing of engineering and design documents, permits, and approvals prior to construction
On-Site Compliance – on-site inspections by state agency personnel after construction begins to ensure the project is complying with the Certificate
Long-Term Compliance – on-site inspections regarding the operation of the facility over its lifetime

Local Agency Account Funding

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.

How to request party status for an Article VIII proceeding

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:

Identification of the proposed party together with the name(s), address, telephone number and email address of the person or persons who will act as representative of the party;
Statement of the petitioner's interest related to the standards and conditions established by the ORES for the siting, design, operation, and construction of the project;
Identification of any interest relating to statutes administered by other State agencies or the ORES relevant to the project;
Statement that the petition is for full party status;
Identification of the precise grounds for opposition or support.
Identification of an adjudicable issue(s) which meets the criteria set forth in section 1100-8.3(c) of this Part; and
An offer of proof specifying the witness(es), the nature of the evidence the person expects to present and the grounds upon which the assertion is made with respect each issue identified.

For amicus party status, interested parties should file a petition that includes:

Identification of the proposed party together with the name(s), address, telephone number and email address of the person or persons who will act as representative of the party;
Statement of the petitioner's interest related to the standards and conditions established by the ORES for the siting, design, operation, and construction of the project;
Identification of any interest relating to statutes administered by other State agencies or the ORES relevant to the project;
Statement that the petition is for amicus status;
Identification of the precise grounds for opposition or support.
Identification of the nature of the legal or policy issue(s) to be briefed which meets the criteria of section 1100-8.3(c) of this Part; and
A statement explaining why the proposed party is in a special position with respect to that issue.

Public Documents and Information

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:

Genoa Town Clerk's Office

1000 Bartnick Road
Genoa, NY 13071

Tuesday 10 am to 5:30 pm;
Thursday 11 am to 6:30 pm

Venice Town Clerk’s Office

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

Public Comment

Any party wishing to remain a party under the Article VIII process is encouraged to review the Article VIII regulations and to contact the ORES office with any questions at: general@ores.ny.gov.

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.

Article VIII