Solar is the wrong choice at shuttered coal-fired powerplant in Somerset
Editor:
The Somerset Solar project is a 125 megawatt installation proposed on part of the site of the shuttered coal-fired powerplant.
Financially, the project should stand on its own and not receive tax breaks or financial incentives from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency (NCIDA) or other organizations.
Those that argue for incentives claim Somerset Solar will help meet the New York State Energy Policy Goals. These goals are under question as to how realistic they are and raise issues that were ignored in the original State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) decision.
Claims made that the Somerset Town Board is on record as approving the project are false. More power to our Governor who has begun to raise questions about certain of the issues surrounding “clean energy.” Further a greenspace barrier was required by the Article 8 siting process for the coal operations. That barrier is being destroyed to the detriment of those living in the area.
ORES has recently issued a deficiency judgement for the project allowing the clearing of trees to begin on the proposed site. There is nothing more counterproductive to clean air than cutting down trees and clearing forested lands. Trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, store it and release oxygen to the atmosphere. Exactly the process wanted to clean our air.
Further, trees act to deaden sounds and form a sight barrier, a much desired effect to preserve the Rural Character of our area. The Nature Conservancy in its Spring 2026 issue indicated that New York State has a plan to plant 680 million trees by 2040. Part of this plan should be to stop the arbitrary destruction of forested areas for unreliable clean energy projects.
The Somerset Solar Project will remove 247 acres from active farming. The 2022 Agricultural Census of Niagara County estimated the average yearly value of agricultural products sold in the County is $1,291 per acre. Over the projected life of 35 years the total loss in agricultural production in Somerset will exceed eleven million dollars in 2022 year dollars. How will this sum ever be recovered?
Farmland and all green spaces should never be used for solar projects. Secure landfills, rooftops, abandoned shopping centers and parking lots, and brownfields located in cities and suburban areas closer to the electrical demand are far better sites.
An examination of details of construction of Somerset Solar puts the lie to any possibility of rehabilitation of the site after it outlives its useful life. Hundreds of buried pilings will be constructed to support the thousands of solar panels. Five miles of crushed stone trails and roads will be constructed, eliminating any notion of ever farming the site again.
The claim is that Somerset Solar will supply power to 25,000 homes. This is at best half-truth as power is only generated when the sun shines. Reliable clean burning natural gas, reliable clean hydropower and reliable carbon free nuclear power come to the rescue.
The Niagara County Industrial Development Agency must deny the request of Somerset Solar for all manner of tax exemptions and financial incentives. Hopefully this action will be enough to kill the project. We will all benefit!
James C. Hoffman
Town of Somerset
