FORT EDWARD —New York state has plans to construct two 20-megawatt solar energy projects in Fort Edward, part of an effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
“As the world economy resets, and as change is a necessity, there is an opportunity to raise our efforts to the next level, and New York should seize this moment,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “We can establish ourselves as the nation’s leader for renewable energy innovation and production. And we will secure the jobs of the future right here at home for New Yorkers.”
The plan includes four components, including identifying large-scale projects that would generate sufficient energy; creating manufacturing facilities needed to construct green infrastructure; increasing the state’s transmission supply so energy created elsewhere can flow to other parts of the state; and expanding education and job training in order to meet the workforce needs associated with green energy.
Also included in the governor’s plan is a $26 billion public-private partnership already underway to build 92 renewable energy projects throughout the state. Sixty-eight of those projects have already been started in some form, including 52 solar and 13 wind energy projects.
The state has awarded two contracts to build the solar facilities in Fort Edward, one to Dolan Solar and the other to Somers Solar, according to a spokesperson the New York State Research and Development Agency, the state agency tasked with overseeing the state’s renewable energy sector.
CS Energy, a New Jersey-based energy firm with offices in Albany, will construct both projects.
In a statement, the state’s Research and Development Agency said the projects will create multiple long-term jobs in the region, but did not specify how many.
“Most solar projects of this size will create multiple long-term jobs in development and operations and maintenance that will service the developer’s projects throughout the region,” the agency said.
The facilities are expected to break ground as soon as all the necessary permits are issued, which will likely be by the end of the year. The facilities are expected to be operational by 2025.
The projects would nearly double the county’s solar capacity, which was just over 25 megawatts as of August, according to data from the Research and Development Agency.
It’s unclear how many local jobs the pair of solar projects would create, said Laura Oswald, the county’s director for economic development.
Officials said most jobs associated with building solar projects involve the construction and are only temporary. The jobs may not even be filled by locals, depending on whether the companies being awarded the project have their own crews or contract with outside companies, she said.
“The direct impact is construction while the solar projects are being constructed. But solar fields long-term don’t typically have a lot of job creation attached to them,” Oswald said.
She said most long-term jobs associated with clean energy pertain to the construction of solar panels or wind turbines.
Several other large-scale solar projects throughout the county are also in development, Oswald said. That includes a 20-megawatt facility in Greenwich and several others in the eastern portion of the county, including the town of Easton.
Bids for those projects have yet to be awarded.