Ulster County committee approves design funding for solar array aimed at making new emergency communications center net-zero

Ulster County’s Public Works and Capital Projects Committee on April 13 voted to move forward with environmental review and design work for a solar installation intended to power the county’s Emergency Communications Center (ECC).

The committee adopted Resolution 171, designating the Ulster County Legislature as lead agency under SEQR and reclassifying the project as a Type I action after staff said the proposed array comes close enough to a structure eligible for the National Register to require a full, coordinated environmental review. The committee unanimously approved the design authorization (Resolution 172) and contract awards tied to the project.

Why it matters: Staff told the committee that federal investment tax-credit changes and site constraints — including wetlands buffers and substation capacity — prompted the county to scale back an earlier multi‑megawatt concept and focus first on rooftop and targeted ground‑mounted arrays that can be completed in time to capture tax incentives. Deputy Executive Laval told the committee, “there have been some changes to the federal investment tax credit for…