South Ripley Solar Project

08/26/2025

This week, from Wednesday, August 27 to Friday, August 29, Generations Forestry will be in the field collecting timber data on behalf of the South Ripley Solar Project. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

08/04/2023

https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/storage/officials-say-theres-no-sign-of-health-risks-from-solar-farm-battery-blaze-in-northern-new-york/?utm_source=rew_weekly_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2023-07-28

Air monitoring in the Village of Chaumont and surrounding area shows no toxic byproducts, and there is no indication of contaminated runoff from the battery fire. While extremely rare, battery equipment can malfunction, and we commend the local emergency responders as well as the New York State agencies for their rapid and informed response.

The blaze prompted local authorities to tell people within a mile of the solar installation to shelter in place for about four hours Thursday.

04/21/2023

We are thrilled that ORES issued a final siting permit for the South Ripley Solar Project! Based on a comprehensive review of the record, ORES found that the Project complies with Executive Law 94-c and avoids, minimizes, or mitigates, to the maximum extent practicable, potential significant adverse environmental impacts to the surrounding area. We want to thank everyone who supported us through the development and application review process – we wouldn’t be where we are today without you. To read the press release, visit our website:

April 21, 2023 (Houston, TX) – ConnectGen announced today that its proposed South Ripley Solar Project has received a final siting permit from the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES). Based on a comprehensive review of the record, ORES found that the Project complies with Execu...

02/06/2023

In 2022, the Chautauqua County IDA approved $501 million in new investments in the county, including the South Ripley Solar Project, which will invest approximately $348 million through project construction. To read more about the CCIDA’s banner year, click here:

Mark Geise, deputy county executive for economic development and chief executive officer of the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency, recently provided an overview of the IDA’s activities in 2022. After discussing the nature and breadth of projects approved by the board in 2022, Geis...

07/15/2022

We are delighted to announce that we have received a draft permit from the New York Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) staff. If adopted and approved by ORES as the final permit, ConnectGen will be authorized to construct operate the South Ripley Solar Project! Based on a comprehensive review of the record, the draft permit found that the project complies with Executive Law 94-c and avoids, minimizes, or mitigates, to the maximum extent practicable, potential significant adverse environmental impacts.

A big thanks to ORES staff for the extensive review of our application. There’s a 60 day public comment period on the draft Permit, which will culminate in an adjudicatory hearing at the end of August. We look forward to the final permit decision and are excited to take the South Ripley Solar Project over the finish line to provide economic benefits to the Town of Ripley and Chautauqua County for the next several decades. To see the official notice, please click here:

04/27/2022

https://www.southripleysolar.com/news/connectgen-south-ripley-solar-project-permit-application-deemed-complete-by-new-york-state-office-of-renewable-energy-siting/

Last Friday, the Office of Renewable Energy Siting deemed the South Ripley Solar Project’s 94-c permit application complete. This is a key step towards final permit approval under Section 94-c, and we are excited about the opportunity to help New York State further its ambitious energy goals while bringing long-term economic development to the Town of Ripley and Chautauqua County.

ConnectGen announced today that the application for its proposed South Ripley Solar Project has been deemed complete by the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting.

01/25/2022

This morning, after more than a year of negotiations, the County of Chautauqua IDA approved a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with the South Ripley Solar Project. Through the PILOT and Host Community Agreements, the Project is expected to contribute over $60 million in increased revenue to local taxing jurisdictions including the Town of Ripley, Chautauqua County, the Sherman Central School District, the Ripley Central School District, and the Ripley Volunteer Fire Department over its 30-plus-year lifespan. In addition to the local tax benefits, local landowners are expected to receive more than $30 million in long-term revenue in the form of solar leases, easement agreements, and good neighbor agreements. We want to thank the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency staff and board members, who put a tremendous amount of effort into our PILOT agreement discussions.

Mark Geise, deputy county executive for Economic Development/chief executive officer of the county IDA, said: “This is a project that ConnectGen and the community have been working on for a couple of years. The built-in certainty of guaranteed revenue made possible by the PILOT and Host Community Agreements will allow Ripley and Chautauqua County to make long-term financial plans, and I’m glad that the CCIDA could assist the Town and ConnectGen in making it a reality.”

PJ Wendel, County Executive, said: “This project is a win for the town of Ripley, Chautauqua County and the state of New York. We are thrilled that we have the land and infrastructure to attract this clean energy project to our area.”

The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency on Tuesday approved incentives for ConnectGen Chautauqua County LLC’s South Ripley solar project, a 270-megawatt, large-scale solar project located in the town of Ripley. The project will include a 20 MW battery energy storage component. “This ...

01/24/2022

We are excited to announce that after a thorough review of wildlife impact mitigation practices and community benefits, the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter recently announced that it is endorsing the South Ripley Solar Project.

The Sierra Club, one of the first large-scale environmental preservation organizations in the world, stated: “We support well-sited renewable energy because we know that it’s necessary to stop mining and burning fossil fuels if we are to reduce the impact of the climate crisis and leave a thriving and safe planet to our next generations, and to the birds and other species who share this planet with us.”

To read more about why the Sierra Club has endorsed the South Ripley Solar Project, click here:

The Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, representing more than 50,000 members and supporters throughout New York State, has endorsed the South Ripley Wind project. The decision to support the project comes after a thorough review process that considered evidence of protection of wildlife, land and water,....

01/11/2022

We are thrilled to announce that on December 30, 2021, the Ripley Town Board unanimously voted to approve the Host Community Agreement (HCA) with the South Ripley Solar Project. Some of the HCA highlights include:

• Total annual payments to the Town of at least $1 million dollars per year. This total includes direct payments through the HCA agreement, the Town’s share of the PILOT payment, and the Special District Taxes. These payments will result in at least $36,870,000 in new revenue coming into Ripley over the life of the Project.
• Cost reimbursement for the Town’s legal and professional costs related to the Project.
• A decommissioning plan and a decommissioning fund to protect the Town and ensure that the local community will bear no burden for project removal at end of life.

We would like to thank the Ripley Town Board for their diligent and thoughtful review of the HCA, and we look forward to being a good community partner to the Town for years to come.

10/27/2021

ConnectGen will be hosting two, identical community meetings on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at Meeder's Restaurant in Ripley. The first meeting will be held from 8:00 am to 10:30 am, and the second meeting will be held from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm. To see the full notice, please click here:

On Wednesday, November 10, 2021, from 8am to 10:30am and 5pm to 7:30PM at Meeder’s Restaurant ConnectGen will be hosting a community meeting for members of the public to learn about Project updates, the Section 94-c permitting process, and the application. Representatives of the company will be pr...

08/16/2021

We are pleased to announce that on August 9, we submitted our 94-c application to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting. We are working to get all application documents posted on our website! In the meantime, if you’re interested in reviewing the application contents, please click here: https://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterCaseNo=21-00750&CaseSearch=Search.