Tariffs have not stalled solar plan, supervisor says
TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. » Town Supervisor James Quigley said he expects an economy of scale will keep Cypress Creek Renewables from dropping its proposed 6-megawatt solar array application despite new U.S. tariffs on imported solar panels.
The company has announced $1.8 billion in planned projects are being canceled or put on hold because of a 30 percent tariff the Trump administration has imposed on imported solar panels.
Speaking after a Town Board meeting Thursday, Quigley said even though the planned local project is to comprise three separate 2-megawatt arrays on different properties along state Route 32, the developer can treat the effort as a single engineering and legal cost.
“What’s interesting about this is that their normal project is 2 megawatts ... so the amount of brain power that they’re putting into doing a project is actually cut by three,” he said. “That’s why they’re sticking with this one.”
Cypress Creek Renewables blamed the cancellation and deferral of planned projects on the actions of President Donald Trump, who claims the solar panel tariff will protect U.S. jobs. The tariff will gradually decline to 15 percent over four years and exempts the first 2.5 gigawatts of solar capability imported. Tariffs already had been imposed by the Obama administration on China, which Forbes reported has six of the top 10 companies in the world for solar panel production.
Quigley, a Republican with a long career in finance, says the tariffs should be considered part of the cost of doing business for solar installation companies.
“Quite frankly, the study that I saw said the solar panel tariff only affected 16 percent of the total project cost,” he said. “So while on the surface it may sound like it’s a big jump, it’s probably a jump for those marginal projects. But projects that have healthy margins and are in good locations in good states, they are not going to [be] impact[ed].”
Cypress Creek proposes installations on three sections of a 190.2-acre property owned by Eddyville Corp. at 3040 state Route 32. There would be two installations at the top of a ridge overlooking Eddyville, while the third site would be about 200 feet east of road.
During a comment session at the Thursday’s Town Board meeting, solar power advocate Randolph Horner cautioned the town against moving too quickly on the Cypress Creek application.
“The placing of these facilities is somewhat like a runaway locomotive in our state today,” he said. “Out-of-state developers are taking advantage of a not-altogether-wellthought-through set of policies that seem to prioritize placing these solar facilities here, there and the other place without a full understanding of the consequences.”
Quigley said there also is concern about an aquifer under the parcels and said the scoping document for the project’s review should require a study of possible affects on groundwater.
“While this location ... should not be construed as being fatal to the project, I would ask that the developers (discuss) in the scoping document the potential environmental impacts on the groundwater that is in the aquifer zone,” he said.
The developers, in the scoping document, state the project would create a community-distributed generation facility that would sell electricity on a subscription basis to local residents.
“These customers would receive credits against their Central Hudson Gas & Electric bills and pay [Cypress Creek] separately for the clean, solar energy,” the document states.
The developers estimate the project will cost $4.35 million and create 23 fulltime construction jobs.
The solar farms would be decommissioned if the owners do not produce electricity for 12 consecutive months, with the property owners given 18 months to remove the equipment.