Nonprofit proposes 1.63‑MW floating solar array on Campfield Reservoir; commissioners press on water‑safety

The City of Peekskill Planning Commission on April 8 heard a conceptual presentation from the Ecological Citizens Project and its solar partners on a proposed roughly 1.63 megawatt DC floating solar array to be sited on the city‑owned Campfield Reservoir at 1000 Lindbergh Place. Project lead Jason Angel said the system is nonprofit‑owned and designed to prioritize local benefits, including lease revenue to the city and discounted electricity for qualifying households.

"The main community benefits would be a lease payment to the city of Peekskill, estimated to be $780,000 over the 25 year life for the project," Jason Angel said, describing an array the team estimates would avoid about 29,000 tons of CO2e and deliver roughly $1.2 million in bill savings for low‑ and moderate‑income households over 25 years. He told commissioners the project has secured about $1.4 million in federal, state and private grants to reduce financing needs and maximize community returns.

Casey (who identified himself as Casey Barkis of Vertu Associates) walked commissioners through the technical design, describing about 2,500–3,000 580‑watt bifacial panels on a single‑axis tracker float system and a mooring plan that relies on roughly 105 small helical anchors installed from the shoreline. "We're at approximately a 105 anchors," he said, and described bathymetric and geotechnical surveys and measures such as silt curtains and temporary filter socks meant to limit turbidity during anchor deployment. He said inverters and transformers will be sited onshore and that the project has submitted an interconnection study request to Con Edison; results were expected shortly and will determine if line upgrades are required.

Commissioners focused on water‑supply safety and long‑term liability. One commissioner warned the project could contaminate the city water supply if materials degraded or panels were damaged, and asked how the city would be protected and who would pay for remediation. Project staff pointed to several protections: Arcadis conducted a third‑party water‑quality engineering review and the draft lease includes provisions for a decommissioning bond and tenant responsibility to remove the system if it produced contaminants linked to the array. Jason Angel also said the city and project team plan to fund an engineered stop‑gate between reservoirs so the city could isolate the supply if needed, and that ongoing water testing would continue through the life of the project.

The project team emphasized monitoring and operational safeguards. The presenter described SCADA monitoring, remote alarms and an operations & maintenance provider to respond to production or damage events, and said the float system will automatically stow at high wind thresholds. Commissioners asked for more detailed engineering criteria (for example, design wind speeds and documented safety factors), the Arcadis deliverable, and written plans for decommissioning funding and subscriber enrollment for low‑income programs; project staff agreed to provide that information in advance of the next planning commission appearance. No formal approvals were sought; this was a conceptual presentation and commissioners collected questions for follow‑up.