Frequently Asked Questions Moraine Solar FAQ
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FAQ Frequently Asked Questions Moraine Solar FAQ CONTENTS EDF Renewables ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Who is EDF Renewables?* ................................................................................................................. 1 Has EDF Renewables created a facility of this size with energy storage?* ................................. 1 Moraine Solar .......................................................................................................................................... 1 What is Moraine Solar? ...................................................................................................................... 1 Siting ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 Why is the project being proposed on land that is being used for agriculture? ....................... 2 Hunting .................................................................................................................................................... 2 What is the hunting setback around battery modules? ................................................................ 2 Will hunters have less land to hunt on, setbacks, and limits on where the discharging of arms may occur? ................................................................................................................................. 2 Taxes ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Will land previously taxed as agriculture now be taxed as commercial? .................................... 2 Can the towns of Burns spend the income from solar payments any way they want or is property tax stabilization written into the town’s agreements? ................................................... 3 If you are not someone with panels on your land, the only benefit to the public at large is through tax relief? .............................................................................................................................. 3 Why not pay full taxes? A PILOT is a tax break. .............................................................................. 3 Will land that was previously taxed as agriculture now be taxed as commercial? .................... 3 Land/Farm ................................................................................................................................................ 4 Do you pay landowners for right of ways (transmission lines, access roads, under or over ground cables)?................................................................................................................................... 4 How will farmland be protected? ..................................................................................................... 4 Sheep farming is not really a profitable business in this area. Who controls the weeds and brush in the area? ............................................................................................................................... 4 How much farmland will be displaced in the town of Burns? ...................................................... 4 Environment ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Are you clear cutting wooded lots to host the project? ................................................................ 5 How many greenhouse gases will we be able to avoid this project? .......................................... 5 What are long-term studies showing on contamination? How old is your oldest solar farm? 5 Is there chemical contamination associated with recycling and decommissioning of solar panels? ................................................................................................................................................. 5 How will this project affect the water table? ................................................................................... 5 Will this project have any adverse effects on the NYSDEC Freshwater Wetland located south of the facility and other wildlife habitat? ......................................................................................... 6 Will wetland laws be followed? ......................................................................................................... 6 Power........................................................................................................................................................ 6 How are you connecting to the grid? .............................................................................................. 6 If this is another way to deliver electricity downstate, why impact my neighborhood? Why not make this work downstate? ........................................................................................................ 6 Solar farm is paid for with our tax dollars to make electricity that we don’t need. Then NY state has promised to buy this unnecessary power. Won’t that increase our utility costs to cover this, just like the most recent rate hike? ............................................................................... 6 How does solar compare to natural gas, coal, nuclear in relation to emissions/pollution? ..... 7 Will we be able to chose you guys as our energy suppliers? ....................................................... 7 Is excess energy transferred to the grid or stored on site? .......................................................... 7 Noise ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 Do the panels make noise? ............................................................................................................... 7 How much noise will be heard at neighboring homes? ................................................................ 7 Will the project produce noise? ........................................................................................................ 7 Decommissioning ................................................................................................................................... 8 What is decommissioning and who will pay for it? ........................................................................ 8 What happens to solar panels at the end of life? .......................................................................... 8 How do we know that EDF Renewables is committed to decommissioning? ............................ 8 Jobs ........................................................................................................................................................... 9 Where is the labour force coming from? ........................................................................................ 9 Zoning ...................................................................................................................................................... 9 Why is land being re-zoned for commercial? ................................................................................. 9 Will re-zoning of areas be required, including rezoning of non-panel properties? .................. 9 Safety ........................................................................................................................................................ 9 Are solar panels safe? ......................................................................................................................... 9 In the event there is a fire, is the fire department going to be able to get in these fenced areas immediately? ........................................................................................................................... 10 Can solar panels catch fire? ............................................................................................................. 10 Can you show us human health studies for folks living around such a large solar power plant? .................................................................................................................................................. 10 What are long-term studies showing on contamination? How old is your oldest solar farm? ............................................................................................................................................................ 10 Will this project impact the Quality of Life of local property owners? ...................................... 11 Should an analysis be conducted of the relative risks and benefits of the use of such equipment instead of equipment that does not contain hazardous materials? ...................... 11 Property Values ..................................................................................................................................... 12 What will happen to neighboring property values? .................................................................... 12 Schedule ................................................................................................................................................ 12 What is the anticipated project timeline? ...................................................................................... 12 When will construction start, if the project does go forward? ..................................................