A public hearing in the Town of Ulster on a proposed solar array off Tuytenbridge Road did not go well for Lightstar Renewables, with several members of the public questioning the merits of a green energy project they say would be bad for the environment.
“Trees and solar are partners in our fight against climate change,” said local resident Vicki Lucarini during the Thursday, January 16 meeting. “So I ask, why are we cutting down acres of trees for a solar array? Does this make sense?”
The Lightstar project would require the granting of a special use permit and would include clear cutting around 26.25 acres of a 68.8-acre property owned by DSC Sisters of Charlotte, North Carolina. With a nearby 298-unit residential project proposed late last year by Rochester-based Whitestone Development Partners, some local residents are concerned about overstuffing an area that’s currently dense with trees.
“The possible accumulative effect of two projects, this project and the 9W multi-family development on the same ridge could result in clear cutting about 100 acres of forest identified as a prime natural resource,” Lucarini said. “Trees play an important role in our world…While a solar array prevents carbon emissions from being released into the atmosphere by generating electricity without burning fossil fuels, it cannot remove carbon from the atmosphere or replace it with the oxygen we all need to breathe.”
Laura Hartmann of TownofUlsterCitizens.org suggested that any environmental benefits of the Lightstar proposal would be greatly diminished by the damage it would cause, noting that there are currently no plans for what happens when the solar farm is obsolete.
“The solar farm will operate for 25 years, but it will take a century to regrow that forest,” said Hartmann. “Immediate environmental impacts include wildlife loss, including endangered species habitats due to deforestation…runoff from deforestation and solar panels into Tuytenbridge Road and Route 9W, polluted wetlands and soil erosion affecting the water table, increased greenhouse gases from clearing the existing forest.”
Hartmann said she believed the developer’s gain would cost too much.
“This project offers 25 years of profit for developers leaving the town with a decimated, once vibrant forest,” Hartmann said. “And what about accounting for the mining, transporting and installation of the solar farm, adding more carbon to the environment during the building with now fewer trees to offset the carbon emissions?”
Hartmann added that her group supports the installation of solar panel projects in the town, but only those that are environmentally responsible.
“The Town of Ulster has plenty of commercial rooftops, parking lots and vacant parcels on which to locate solar panels without the need to fell forests,” she said. “These are places we should be encouraging businesses to add solar panels on already impervious surfaces and rooftops.”
Local resident Yukio McDowell lamented the potential loss of acres of trees.
“I live on Tuytenbridge Road and I walk the woods and (there are) so many beautiful big oak trees over there,” resident Yuiko McDowell said. “I’m just sorry for the trees that this project would cut down.”
Amy DeChiara put it more bluntly, suggesting Massachusetts-based Lightstar Renewables should take their business elsewhere.
“Go back to Boston,” she said. “We don’t need it here.”
DeChiara said she was surprised the proposal had gotten as far as it already has.
“The town, the planning board, you guys are here to advocate for us,” she said. “You’re our voice. So we really need to advocate for us. We don’t want this.”
Town Supervisor James E. Quigley said the public hearing would remain open through Monday, February 17. He added that the proposal had been reviewed by the Ulster County Planning Board, but the town had yet to receive their thoughts. He added that the community should show up at the next meeting of the town’s planning board, scheduled for Tuesday, February 11.
“If you are serious about continuing to maintain your vigilance on watching this project and this process, I would encourage you to show up for the town planning board,” Quigley said.
Join the family! 
