Lansing solar developers say they face financial uncertainty, receive local tax break

ITHACA, N.Y. — A solar project in Lansing received a tax break Wednesday from the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency.

Lansing Community Solar, a 5MWac solar array, will occupy 22.7 acres of land. It’s estimated to generate enough energy to support over 800 residential homes a year, according to its application to the IDA.

The project will save an estimated $1.6 million on property taxes over the course of the 25-year agreement. The solar project broke ground in July 2024, and is owned by Genie Solar Energy, a company based out of Newark, NJ.

Lansing Community Solar is estimated to cost nearly $14 million to construct. The solar field is located on Lansingville Road in the town of Lansing. Developers of the project contended that the community solar project could fail without support from the IDA. 

If the land were left undeveloped it would pay more in local property taxes than it will under the tax break the project received.

The IDA’s projections show that the property taxes on the parcel would amount to an estimated $1.2 million over the 25-year period. 

Under the property tax exemption agreement, just an estimated $874,427 of local property taxes will be paid over 25 years to the Town of Lansing, Tompkins County and the Lansing Central School District.

However, If the project were developed without a local tax break, the IDA projected it would contribute an estimated $2.4 million in property taxes over 25 years.

Proponents of property tax breaks often argue that, when used effectively, they support development that will eventually increase the property taxes drawn from a parcel of land. It’s unusual that the IDA approved a project that will pay less in property taxes compared to just leaving the land undeveloped.

Asked about the uncommon circumstances of the tax break and what benefits Lansing Community Solar stood to introduce to the community, Tompkins County IDA Administrative Director Kellea Bauda said, “There are temporary jobs that are created, but no real long-term jobs. And that’s just the nature of a solar project. It’s really to support green energy.”

The solar project is projected to result in 50 temporary full-time-equivalent construction jobs during development and will bring in local labor from Hicks Septic and Excavation, Landscape Creations by JR Hatfield, G&L trucking.

Bauda noted that subscribers to community solar projects stand to save money on their electricity bill. Community solar projects are often advertised as being able to save subscribers between 5 and 20 percent on their electric bills.

The risk was due to a potential change in New York State law that discounts property assessments for solar and wind systems, which results in lower property taxes. The law was challenged in court and ruled unconstitutional in March 2025, but the decision is being appealed and is currently stayed. 

The uncertainty motivated Genie Solar Energy to seek a tax break midway through developing Lansing Community Solar.

Genie Solar Energy Finance Manager Ryan Amaral said the project would have been operating at a loss if it had continued without the local property tax break.

“This is helping us at least have some sort of return,” said Amaral. “It’s not a home run, but it’s at least a single base hit in terms of the economics of the project.”

Amaral said they expect the array to last over 30 years, which is considered to be a typical lifespan for a solar field. 

Tompkins County Legislator Rich John, who chairs the IDA’s board, said Genie Solar Energy noted the uncertain financial picture that the Lansing Community Solar development faced.

“You kinda had the rug pulled out from you,” John said. He added that the project would have been considered for a property tax break had it approached the IDA earlier. 

Solar panel installation will be carried out by Coral Reef Partners, a Hershey, Pennsylvania-based company. While the project operators are still being decided, the likely top contenders are John Mills Electric and Renovus Solar. 

Lansing Community Solar also received $1 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy For America Program (REAP).

REAP, which once enjoyed bipartisan support, has been a target of President Donald Trump’s funding freeze, with outlets reporting local farms failing to receive the reimbursement they were entitled to under the program. 

This program operates under a reimbursement system. Amaral said they still expect to receive the REAP grant, as it was awarded before Trump cut the program’s funding, but confirmed they have yet to receive the reimbursement.

Genie Solar Energy is a subsidiary of Genie Energy, an American multinational corporation. Genie Energy has previously faced criticism for its presence in the Golan Heights. The United Nations Security Council determined in 1967, when Israel took control of the territory after the Six-Day War, that the seizure went against international law.

The U.S. became the first nation to recognize the region as a part of Israel in 2019. The international community broadly regards it as an Israeli-occupied Syrian territory. 

Through subsidiaries, Genie Energy conducted the first oil and gas explorations in the region.