Dear Friends of Sensible Solar,
 
It was wonderful to see so many of you at Sensible Solar for Rural New York's virtual townhall on March 3rd. If you missed it, you can watch a recording of the meeting here, as well as two important videos produced by Sensible Solar.

We are writing because Sensible Solar for Rural New York needs your help. Time is of the essence to impact Hecate Energy’s proposed 60-megawatt solar installation in Copake and Craryville, so we are asking you to donate to our cause today!

The size and scale of the 360-acre solar facility proposed for Copake and Craryville is just too big and ill-fitting for our rural community. As such, Sensible Solar is committed to fighting to significantly reduce or relocate the 280 acres of solar panels (equal to 215 football fields) being proposed by an out-of-state solar developer.

While Sensible Solar whole-heartedly supports renewable energy, it should not be at the expense of our community and its natural resources, farmland, rural viewsheds, and agriculture and tourism-dependent economy.
 
Hecate Energy is asking New York State officials to override Copake's progressive zoning laws that prohibit solar installations greater than ten acres on any single parcel of land. As such, we are working hard to educate key decision-makers and elected officials in Albany so they can join our fight.

It is equally important that Governor Andrew Cuomo, his policy staff and state agency leadership hear our story. We know our outreach can make a real difference in our collective efforts to reduce or relocate the project, as well as make sure it does not harm our community's important natural resources, wildlife and farmland. We also want to ensure the project is designed with our community's best interests in mind, properly buffered from view, and well-maintained over the project's entire life.

As you can imagine, our public education and advocacy efforts are costly. Your donation will increase the chances of this solar project being stopped or greatly reduced. We need to fight this fight so that an industrial-scale solar facility does not change Copake's character and landscape forever. We can only do that with your financial support.

Any amount can help, so please make a donation today! Click here to make an online donation or mail a check to: Sensible Solar for Rural New York at P.O. Box 305 Craryville, NY 12521.
 
Regards,

Melissa Naple and Darin Johnson
Sensible Solar for Rural New York