NextEra Energy presenting new solar proposal in Massena tonight - North Country Now

NextEra Energy presenting new solar proposal in Massena tonight - North Country Now

MASSENA -- Residents of Brasher, Massena and Norfolk will have an opportunity to view a proposal for a new 180-megawatt solar project in their towns during an open house on June 6.

Officials …

MASSENA -- Residents of Brasher, Massena and Norfolk will have an opportunity to view a proposal for a new 180-megawatt solar project in their towns during an open house on June 6.

Officials with NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, will be on hand to answer questions from 5-7 p.m. at the Massena Community Center, located at 61 Beach St.

NextEra officials say the meeting will allow members of the public to speak directly with subject matter experts and project representatives alike.

The meeting will be enough to satisfy the requirement to hold at least one local meeting with community members before Gateway Solar Energy Center's proposal is submitted to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting board.

As part of the project, commercial solar arrays will be installed but first access roads, collection lines and electrical interconnection facilities must be built.

Officials say that hundreds of jobs will be created during the construction phase, with an as of yet determined number of jobs created once the array comes online.

Those jobs would include landscaping and snow plowing, to name a few.

Company officials also say the project will create millions of dollars in revenue for the county, towns and school districts the array will be located in.

This is the second solar project proposed in the three towns by NextEra Energy Resources, however that project was eventually shot down when the State Board of Electrical Generation Siting and Environment denied approval.

That project, through NextEra subsidiary North Side Energy Center, would have greatly impacted many endangered and threatened species in the project area.

Despite attempts to secure a second hearing to appeal the decision, state officials denied the request and effectively ended the project.

According to state officials, North Side Energy Center failed to meet the necessary criteria for a new hearing, failed to address the board's initial concerns and failed to demonstrate that the project was in the public's best interest.