In early March, Hecate Energy submitted its application to the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) for its proposed Shepherd's Run solar installation in Copake and Craryville, NY. After reviewing dozens of documents contained in Hecate's application, it's clear that the Copake Solar Working Group's recommendations are not included in Hecate's application.

As you may recall, the Copake solar Working Group's recommendations included important protections for our environment -- for example, no clear cutting of 40+ acres of forest, continued agriculture use of the land and and extensions of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail. Additionally, the working group called for protections for homeowners including increased and more environmentally accurate screening of the panels, compensation to impacted homeowners, and reduced energy bills for all of the community. None of these critical recommendations are included in Hecate's application. As such, we are asking the community to urge the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) to deem the application incomplete without these recommendations included.

Writing ORES is a very easy process and will take just a few moments of your time. Please share this communication with your friends and neighbors. Submitting comments to ORES will have a positive impact for the community at large!

1. Click on this link: https://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/MatterManagement/CaseMaster.aspx?MatterCaseNo=21-02553&CaseSearch=Search

2. Click on the tab that says "Public Comments" 2/3rds of the way down the page.

3. At the bottom right of the page click on the "Post Comments" tab, type your comments in the box, click "I'm not a robot", then click "Post Comment".

Below is a sample comment you can cut and paste but we encourage you to modify this comment with additional details as to why Hecate must adopt these recommendations. Please feel free to expand upon your comments as you see fit.

I am a resident of _____ and I'm writing to urge ORES to require Hecate Energy to adopt the Copake Solar Working Group recommendations as part of its application for Shepherd's Run. These recommendations help protect Copake's farmland, natural resources, and homeowners from the effects of the proposed project, and will result in enhanced community benefits.