OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Members of the Sheridan Town Board recently approved the decommissioning plan for a solar energy project located at 3323 Werle Road. The plan was presented by Alyssa Kruger on behalf of Generate Capital.

SHERIDAN — The largest solar energy project in Sheridan is inching even closer to the construction phase.

At the Sheridan Town Board meeting last month, the Decommissioning Plan from Generate Capital for the solar energy projects of 5.51 Megawatts and 5.33 Megawatts located at 3323 Werle Road, Sheridan, was approved by the board. The overall project has already been approved for a special use permit.

The only vote against the decommissioning plan’s approval was by council member Thomas Wik, who opposed the plan because of concerns he had with the cost of labor. Those concerns were not shared by the rest of the board.

The decommissioning plan documents were submitted by Alyssa Kruger, who flew in from California to attend the meeting on behalf of Generate Capital. The comprehensive plan — in total more than 50 pages — breaks down the process of decommission, possible reasons for decommissioning, and the cost of decommissioning the two separate 5-plus MW solar energy systems. Any revisions to the plan will need to be reviewed and approved by the town board.

The cost estimate for the two projects to be decommissioned is $280,916.25 for project 1 and $293,020.00 for project 2.

At this point in the process, a bond will now be secured and once all the required signatures are provided, the construction will be officially underway. Kruger believes all the final paperwork will be finished by the next Sheridan meeting on Oct. 12.