Bear Ridge Solar Project

About Bear Ridge Solar

In support of New York State’s Clean Energy Standard mandate to secure 50 percent of the State’s electrical supply from renewable sources by 2030, Cypress Creek Renewables is proposing to construct “Bear Ridge Solar,” a 100 MW-AC solar energy generation facility in the towns of Cambria and Pendleton, Niagara County, New York. The project is expected to be sited on approximately 900 acres and will safely generate enough clean, renewable electricity to power between 15,000 and 20,000 single-family homes. The anticipated power output of the Facility is approximately 200 million kWh annually, which will offset an estimated 42,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, the equivalent of removing 8,000 cars from the road each year. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Social Cost of Carbon, a measure, in dollars, of the long-term damage done by a ton of CO2 emissions in a single year and the value of damages avoided through an emission reduction, the environmental benefit of this project will provide an economic benefit equivalent to $6.2 million per year to the State of New York.

About Cypress Creek Renewables

Cypress Creek Renewables is one of the nation’s largest dedicated providers of solar projects and has built an important history of partnering with local communities, governments, and utilities to help advance a national clean energy program. Cypress Creek’s projects contribute to local economic development, job growth, and increase the use of renewables for a cleaner, more affordable, and more reliable source of power nationwide. In 2017 alone, Cypress Creek built nearly 15% of all utility-scale solar installed in the U.S., more than any other utility-scale solar developer. Nationally, Cypress Creek has developed over 2 GW of electricity and owns and operates a portfolio of 1.5 GW across four states – enough to power 500,000 homes. Some benefits realized by Cypress Creek projects include:

• A source of consistent, annual income for the landowners. This is especially helpful when the landowner’s occupation provides variable income, as is often the case year-to-year for farmers;

• New job creation both in temporary construction jobs and long-term solar project operations, and a stimulus for local business growth and expansion to provide needed services to support the new solar facility;

• New tax revenue streams for the communities it serves; and

• A “Good Neighbor Commitment” by working together with local communities in advancing local projects and helping fulfill community needs, like playgrounds, ballfields, emergency services equipment, job training, and science, technology, engineering, agricultural, and mathematics (STEAM) programs.

Cypress Creek Renewables in New York State

In New York State, Cypress Creek has been working to advance clean energy for over three years, delivering millions of dollars in investment and economic development to communities across the State through its 19 permitted community solar projects and over 50 others in development. Through this investment, Cypress Creek has demonstrated a commitment to the state through solar development and other community-focused initiatives, including:

• A partnership with the Hudson Valley Community College Workforce Development Institute to reduce course fees in solar job training, with a focus on recruiting veterans, women, and underrepresented communities in the solar industry.

• Improved soil and agricultural productivity for local farmland resulting from the installation of on-site pollinator habitat at every NY Cypress Creek project, including Bear Ridge Solar. Through planting and managing native, pollinator-friendly vegetation, storm water runoff can be reduced by 8-23 percent and wild pollinator populations, such as bees and butterflies, can be restored and sustained. In 2016, New York lost half of its managed pollinator populations, which are vital for the crop yield of pollinator-dependent crops worth $344 million to the State’s agricultural industry. Cypress Creek’s projects will provide thousands of acres of healthy habitat for insects urgently needed to support agriculture.

• Investments of new solar installations of approximately $740 million dollars in the next five years, much of it going to the local communities where the solar projects will be developed.

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Bear Ridge Solar and Cypress Creek Renewables Below

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