The Peru Gazette

(Please Share) November 19, 2024, Peru, NY—Peru residents learned about the solar farm on Mannix Road six years ago when the Hamilton family (Patti, Neil, Mark, and Ruth) applied for a building permit. At long last, there’s good news to report. By the end of December or early 2025, HamilSun Community Solar’s 5,200 panels should be feeding electricity into the grid. If the panels perform as planned, subscribers will receive NYSEG bill credits of 10% to 20% with no panels on roofs, service changes, or program enrollment costs.

Every Clinton and Essex County NYSEG customer is eligible. The project is unique because 60% of NYSEG’s credits will flow to low and moderate-income customers. Family spokesman Mark Hamilton commented, “We want this project to benefit the people who need it the most.” The first online enrollment period will open soon. A second message will update everyone on the project’s progress and open a second enrollment period.

Solar installations require technological knowledge and finance experience; the Hamiltons partnered with Apex Solar Power and RER Energy Group. Apex Solar has the installation expertise, while RER has the design and financing experience.

This solar farm is tiny compared to most; it takes up only ten acres in a former hayfield and, at 2.7 Megawatts, will produce enough electricity to power about 400 homes. The partners encountered many hurdles, including New York State changing its solar farm regulations and raising questions about the project’s feasibility. Mark Hamilton commented, “On a positive note, solar panel technology has significantly advanced over the past six years. We’ve installed much more productive panels at roughly the same cost.”

Until two years ago, a beautiful apple orchard surrounded what has become a solar farm. However, the trees were old and no longer productive, and the orchardist caring for them wasn’t interested in continuing. Uncared-for trees could have become diseased, endangering nearby orchards. 

Reflecting on the solar farm as it prepares to go online, Hamilton stated, “We felt a sense of loss when we had to remove the orchard. We love that land. This is farming in a different way.”