VESTAL, NY (WSKG) — The Steuben County Legislature approved a lease agreement this week with a solar energy company. Toronto-based Abundant Solar Incorporated will install solar panels at the county’s landfill on Saddleback Road in Bath.
As part of their agreement, the company will pay the county $5,000 for each megawatt produced and the county will get a ten percent discount on electricity they purchase.
Vincent Spagnoletti, Steuben County Commissioner of Public Works, said the discount and revenue are both good reasons to enter this agreement, but says maybe the most important reason is the changing climate.
"We have global warming, and anything we can do to produce power from other than fossil fuel is a little bit of help for that," he said.
The Saddleback Road site is one of six being considered for this kind of development, but this one is the most promising because there is what’s known as an interconnect.
"There’s an electrical power line where they can connect and get it onto the grid. The others are not as certain," Spagnoletti explained.
A second site at the Bath landfill is also being considered. Among the other possible sites are closed landfills in Lindley and Prattsburgh.