As originally published on www.strictlybusinessny.com/

For those of you who have grown up here in “Apple Country” you may have noticed the changing face of the landscape. The larger growers are swapping out older orchards to keep up with the changing variety popularity, while some of the smaller farmers have chosen to phase out their orchards and lease the land for other crops. The Hamilton’s Macintosh farm in Peru, NY is one of the latter.

Prior to removing its orchard, the family was approached by a developer wanting to lease some of the land to put in a solar farm. Like the apple falling on Newton’s head, the community-focused Hamilton family realized it was something they could do and provide benefit to the local community.

Mark Hamilton, one of the farm’s owners is a partner in HamilSun Solar, He is also the Executive Director of The Plattsburgh Housing Authority and has seen first-hand the struggles of low- and moderate-income families. His family’s vision was not only to keep most of the solar credits within the community, but also to help reduce electric costs for income-eligible families. From there the journey started.

Ask the Experts

Every new venture requires research and planning, and the best sources of knowledge are generally those who have been through the process and learned the hard lessons. That is how Hamilton met Michael Roach and Jim Kurtz of RER Energy Group. While RER is based in Pennsylvania, the company has worked on several community projects in Upstate New York, including one in Saranac Lake.

Roach, who is currently based in Syracuse, has a Renewable Energy degree from SUNY Morrisville, and before getting into solar was working on the biomass side of the industry. While Kurtz has a finance and accounting background, he transitioned to renewable energy in 2009 while helping to bring the family electric company into a new era. “Helping to facilitate these locally-owned projects is what gets me out of bed in the morning,” noted Kurtz, who is now based in Washington, DC where he leads RER in helping to bring solar to other communities across the country.

Before the team started planning the solar array and recruiting investors, they needed the proper permitting. At the time, the Town of Peru zoning didn’t cover that type of project. So, the Town, with the help of New York State, the Town of Plattsburgh, and the HamilSun team, facilitated the adoption of new solar farm regulations.

Infrastructure Updates

The next hurdle was a costly one. In order to connect the solar farm to the grid, the substation had to be upgraded. Three phase power lines run on many of the main roads in the area now, but both substations and circuits require available interconnection capacity in order to accept new generators, including solar power. This upgrade to the NYSEG station cost roughly $400,000 to be “plug in” ready. That cost fell to HamilSun and its investors as part of the farm’s start-up costs.

The project currently has roughly 5,000 panels on about 10 acres of land. All panels are a single axis mount versus a fixed tilt. That means they face Vermont in the morning and slowly track the sun as it crosses over the farm to the western horizon, ensuring the longest opportunity for energy capture on any given day.

Kurtz explained, “HamilSun Community Solar has a 2.652-megawatt capacity, and the farm is expected to generate 3.7 million kilowatt-hours annually, varying slightly with sun exposure.” Roach went on to explain, “The power feeds into the grid, and the solar credits are allocated to three main categories: non-residential accounts, residential low-income accounts and residential non-low-income accounts.” Hamilton added proudly, “The Town of Peru municipal accounts offset a significant portion of its power from this local solar project, and more than 50 percent of the output is earmarked for income-qualified families.”

Into the Mix

Chances are many Peru residents are using some of the solar generated resource without even realizing it. Once the power reaches the utility circuit, like a stream flowing into a river, it all becomes one. A meter at the solar farm tracks HamilSun’s energy input, which in turn creates solar credits. The subscribers or “tenants” of the solar farm then receive a solar credit line on their utility bill that reduces the amount owed by the account that month.

“Anyone can sign up for the solar benefit through HamilSun’s online portal. There are income guidelines to qualify for the remaining low-income subscriptions. Those that qualify are eligible for up to twenty percent off their estimated annual electric cost. The program is open to roughly 400 homes,” noted Hamilton. “Those above the income guidelines are still eligible to apply, but may encounter a waiting list.”

Giving Back to the Land

With all of RER’s development efforts, consideration is given to what happens with the soil below the panels. It is often specified that only pollinator-friendly plants are used, and the arrays are enclosed by large grid fencing to allow smaller wildlife to pass in and out.

HamilSun has taken things a step further. Instead of traditional mowing with heavy equipment, the company has contracted with a local sheep farm — Cherry Hill Farm — to graze its flock within the array. Owner Kristen Carpenter holds a degree in Animal Science from Cornell University. Her thesis on sheep cohabitation with solar panels squelches theories that it might have ill effects on the animals. “It’s rather a symbiotic relationship,” she observed.

With ample grazing and the shelter of the panels which allows them to stay out of the elements, the flock has flourished at HamilSun. They keep the vegetative growth maintained, eliminating the need for mechanical mowers that run on fossil fuel and can kick rocks up into the panels. The sheep also fertilize the land as they go. “It’s a real win-win,” observed Hamilton. Carpenter noted an overall improvement in her flock after summering at the solar farm. Like HamilSun, RER’s Saranac Lake project also contracts with a local sheep farmer.

From vision to fruition, the HamilSun project took about seven years. Though the system was mechanically ready in December of 2024 it didn’t start pushing power into the grid until June of this year. The six-month delay allowed for the acquisition of additional subscribers, and to complete final inspections. When asked about future expansion, Hamilton shared, “Our footprint is as large as we are going to make it. Any future output increase will come from advancement in panels and upgrading existing framework.”

With renewable energy sources continuing to rise in popularity and solar farms facing less opposition than wind farms, it will be interesting to see more collaborations with RER in our area.

HamilSun Solar Farm
294 Mannix Road
Peru, NY 12972
(888) 606-0054
https://info.neighborhoodsun.solar/hamilsun

As originally published on www.strictlybusinessny.com/