By DIANE VALDEN
COPAKE—Hecate Energy has sent out a letter to neighbors and residents of Copake inviting them to a virtual meeting about the controversial Shepherd’s Run solar facility project to be built on farmland in Craryville. The meeting is slated for Wednesday, February 19 at 4 p.m.
According to the letter provided to The Columbia Paper by Hecate Public Relations Consultant Damien LaVera, this “Virtual Open House with the Shepherd’s Run team” offers “you an opportunity to provide feedback on the project and Hecate’s involvement in the community, as well as ask any questions you may have. Visit www.shepherdsrunsolar.com to learn more and register to attend.”
A Chicago-based developer of solar and wind facilities and energy storage projects, Hecate Energy submitted a permit application December 23 for a new 42-megawatt photovoltaic (PV) solar facility proposed to be built on several non-contiguous areas along State Route 23 and County Route 7 on seven parcels of private land totaling about 700 acres. Once constructed, the project will occupy approximately 215 acres, according to www.shepherdsrunsolar.com, Hecate’s Shepherd’s Run project website. Hecate’s original permit application for a 60 megawatt (MW) solar facility was denied in February 2024 by the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission (ORES).
