New York’s largest solar power plant moves forward

The 500 MW Cider Solar Farm, which is to be the largest solar plant in New York State, was approved by the New York Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Transmission (ORES).

Dan de Boer, interim CEO and head of Infrastructure at Greenbacker, a green energy investment company, told pv magazine USA that this is the first permit of its kind issued by ORES for a project application initially filed under Section 94-c rules, which require all renewable energy projects larger than 25 MW seek an approved permit through ORES.

Greenbacker secured $950 million in aggregate financing to support the acquisition, construction and operation of the behemoth plant that is expected to supply 920,000 MWh of renewable electricity per year or enough to power approximately 120,000 New York households, or all households in Genesee County, as well as in neighboring counties including Livingston, Orleans, Wyoming, and Allegany.

Hecate Energy, Cider Solar’s developer, chose PEC Construction Management as the owner’s representative, which is providing an on-site presence during construction.

Brent O’Connor who oversees business and corporate development for PEC Construction Management told pv magazine USA that “developers and investors recognize that having their own professional representation on-site throughout the construction process is essential for utility scale projects.”  He noted that for large projects the company usually deploys five to seven owner’s representatives, “ensuring comprehensive oversight throughout all construction phases, from pre-construction to commissioning and final closeout.”

The project started early construction activities in November 2024 and is expected to be complete by Q4 2026, reaching commercial operations by the end of 2026.

The project sits on 2,500 acres of land in Genesee County. An agrivoltaic (pairing agriculture with solar) integration plan is currently in development, and Hecate intends to set aside an initial area of approximately 300 acres for dual-use agricultural purposes including sheep grazing, with the potential to host over 1000 acres of rotational grazing over its operational lifetime.

The solar plant will include 955,724 Canadian Solar modules on Array Technologies trackers with 134 Sungrow inverters, de Boer told pv magazine USA.

During construction the site will generate hundreds of jobs and generate $100 million in tax revenue to local governments, according to the developers. Funds will flow to local schools, fire departments and first responders, and other vital services.

Additionally, the project has received its environmental permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), and a corporate permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Cider Solar has full interconnection right of way control, as the proposed switchyard is located on land immediately adjacent to the existing NYPA 435kV Dysinger-New Rochester Transmission line.

Adding a half gigawatt of solar moves New York closer to its goal of net zero by 2040. As of Q4 2024, the state had 6.6 GW of solar installed, which provided 8% of electricity needs.

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