TOWN OF BYRON, N.Y. (WKBW) — A $345 million solar farm is coming to the Town of Byron in Genesee County.
The New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment granted approval for Excelsior Energy Center, LLC to build and operate a 280-megawatt (MW) solar farm with 20 MWs of battery storage in the Town of Byron.
According to a release, The Genesee County Economic Development Center said it would create new jobs, provide long-term revenue and economic development to the town and county. It is estimated the project will provide $117.5 million in economic impacts.
- Excelsior is expected to provide $37.4 million in new revenue to the county, town and school district in property tax-type benefits to invest in infrastructure, additional services, and resources for residents.
- The project will create 290 jobs during construction, three to four full-time positions, and opportunities for landscaping and snow plowing throughout the life of the project. There will be opportunities for local businesses to supply materials to support the construction of the project, and service-industry businesses such as hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues will benefit from an increase in worker activity throughout construction.
- The project will invest approximately $40.8 million in construction labor, creating employment opportunities for those in the construction trades, including equipment operators, truck drivers, laborers, and electricians.
The project area is around 3,443 vacant acres and the project footprint is 1,716 acres. It is expected to begin commercial operation in late 2022 and is estimated the solar farm will produce enough electricity for 74,000 average-sized homes annually.
The project will consist of:
- Commercial-scale solar arrays, height of the solar array itself will be approximately 13 feet
- Access roads
- Buried and possibly overhead electric collection lines
- A collection substation
- Electrical interconnection facilities
- A 20 MW energy storage system which will charge exclusively off the solar array
