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Hyde Park's landfill solar project stalls after developer withdraws over interconnection costs
Summary
The Climate Smart Committee reported that a developer withdrew from a proposed 3–5 MW solar farm at the town landfill after federal tax-credit changes and Central Hudson interconnection upgrade costs (quoted at roughly $3 million) eroded project economics; the committee will pause the project and explore alternatives including flexible interconnect and other town-owned parcels.
Steve Ware, a member of the Climate Smart Committee, told the Town Board that efforts to develop a solar array at the town landfill — an effort that began in early 2023 — have been suspended after a developer backed out. Ware attributed the withdrawal to two main factors: changes to federal tax incentives that reduced project returns and high interconnection upgrade costs quoted by Central Hudson (the committee cited an upgrade cost on the order of $3,000,000 to extend three-phase service from Route 9G to the landfill site).
'We sent out solicitations, got a contractor, and the developer put down money to do site studies and an interconnect request,' Ware said. 'At the end of 2025 the developer backed out because of the loss of the federal tax incentives and high interconnect costs.'
Ware said the committee has contacted other potential partners — including the New York Power Authority, Municipal Solar Partners, and sustainable-energy nonprofits — and is working with Sustainable Hudson Valley to seek a regional approach that might prioritize line upgrades and make projects viable. He also described 'flexible interconnect' as a possible technical approach Central Hudson could adopt to allow intermittent solar output without full, worst-case capacity upgrades.
The committee discussed alternatives: encouraging private landowners with suitable parcels to pursue projects, refining requests for proposals, and considering town-owned roofs or other municipal parcels for smaller-scale solar. No procurement or lease agreements were executed; the committee voted to pause active pursuit of the landfill project pending changes in incentives, grid upgrade priorities, or alternative financing structures.
Board members asked about lease revenue, community solar options and decommissioning plans; Ware said those items would be standard parts of any eventual contract but were not finalized for the landfill scheme because the developer did not progress to contract stage.
