×

Incentives approved by county IDA for South Ripley solar project

The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency on Tuesday approved incentives for ConnectGen Chautauqua County LLC’s South Ripley solar project, a 270-megawatt, large-scale solar project located in the town of Ripley.

The project will include a 20 MW battery energy storage component.

“This is a project that ConnectGen and the community have been working on for a couple of years,” said Mark Geise, deputy county executive for Economic Development/chief executive officer of the county IDA. “The built-in certainty of guaranteed revenue made possible by the PILOT and Host Community Agreements will allow Ripley and Chautauqua County to make long-term financial plans, and I’m glad that the CCIDA could assist the Town and ConnectGen in making it a reality.”

Added Doug Bowen, Ripley town supervisor, “This has been a long and sometimes challenging project; however, at the end of the day the revenue from this project will benefit the citizens of the Town for many years to come.”

ConnectGen has worked since late 2018 to introduce the project to the Ripley community, meet with state agencies and local municipalities, and perform environmental studies.

In August 2021, ConnectGen filed a 94-c application for the project, which provides extensive details regarding project design, environmental review, economic and community benefits, and potential impacts and mitigations. Subject to the receipt of necessary permits, it is anticipated that Project construction will commence in late 2022. The project is not expected to impact local farmlands currently producing dairy or cultivating vineyards.

“This project is a win for the town of Ripley, Chautauqua County and the state of New York,” said County Executive PJ Wendel. “We are thrilled that we have the land and infrastructure to attract this clean energy project to our area.”

Starting at $2.99/week.

Subscribe Today