The Peru Gazette

Developer David Byrne

By John T. Ryan 

Peru – Plans for a solar farm on the Moffat property at 3831 Route 22 are moving forward. The Peru Planning Board gave its conditional stamp of approval at its December 8th Zoom meeting. The Board declared that the project would not have a negative environmental impact according to the terms of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR). 

Along with complying with its submitted plans, the developer David Byrne, President of RENUA Energy, must comply with two Peru Solar Law provisions prior to a building permit being issued – the decommissioning bond amount and the nature of a required public benefit contribution. 

Peru’s Zoning Law requires a decommissioning bond sufficient to remove the solar system and any ancillary structures, plus repair any property damage. It also requires a 2% annual inflation escalator clause over a 30-year minimum. David Byrne said decommissioning costs are usually determined near the end of construction. However, after this meeting, Code Enforcement Officer told the Peru gazette that Planning Board would determine the bond amount before granting final project approval. In fact, Byrne submitted a decommissioning plan and suggested a bond amount of $175,000 on Friday. December 10th. 

The Zoning Law also requires that Tier 3 solar developers make a public benefit contribution in the amount of 1% of the project’s total value. Byrne told the Board that he estimates that the project will cost about $8 million depending on several factors, including supply-chain issues. The law suggests such benefits as an electric vehicle charging station, sidewalks, purchasing ecologically significant land, bus shelters and bike racks, public park improvements, LED street lights, and urban tree planting/greenery. Byrne said he would work with the assessor on determining the fair market value and that his company has previously installed charging stations. 

Click here to view Peru’s Solar Law

Click here to view the previous Peru Gazette Solar Farm story. It has more project details.