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Queensbury resident urges Warren County committee to plan for more solar; supervisor voices conditional support
Summary
Christopher Hoy, a Queensbury resident and member of North Country Earth Action, urged the committee to include citizens in planning and to pursue rooftop and county-site solar. A supervisor said he supports solar projects where they are the "highest and best use," naming brownfields, landfill sites and the county airport as preferred locations.
Christopher Hoy, a retired physician and Queensbury resident who identified himself as a member of North Country Earth Action, used the public-comment period to urge the committee to involve citizens in planning and building more solar power in Warren County.
"We ask you to involve this committee in the public discussion, planning, and installation of more renewable energy in our county," Hoy said, arguing that local weather patterns have changed and that renewable energy can reduce long-term costs. He noted Queensbury High School's approximately 200,000 square feet of roof as a potential site and offered two short videos showing progress in New York State.
A supervisor responded that he supports solar where it is the "highest and best use," pointing to brownfields, a regulated landfill ridge road site and the county airport as locations suited to solar development and cautioning against placing arrays on valuable farmland. "So very supportive of solar, but when it's the highest and best use we hear every day now, it can't be on our valuable farmland and things like that," the supervisor said.
No formal action or directive was taken during the meeting; the public comment was recorded and acknowledged by committee members. Staff and supervisors present noted interest in further discussion and in coordinating with school and town officials about potential rooftop or county-site projects.
