Authorities discuss solar park project at Love Canal

NIAGARA FALLS, NY (WIVB) – NYSERDA and the City of Niagara Falls are in preliminary discussions about a large-scale solar farm on 16 acres of Love Canal, the site of one of the country’s worst environmental disasters.

The city agreed to a memorandum of understanding with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in April to discuss and study the viability of land for renewable energy projects. The Love Canal proposal was not mentioned when the agreement was announced.

The Niagara Gazette first reported on the proposal.

NYSERDA’s Build Ready program works with local communities to explore potential sites for projects that could reduce greenhouse gases, with a focus on making “difficult sites” ready for construction.

Elected officials, residents and businesses can nominate properties for consideration.

The Niagara Gazette reported that Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino proposed the Love Canal site for a renewable energy project. It is unclear whether NYSERDA and Restaino’s administration mentioned other sites. The mayor could not immediately be reached for comment.

The proposed project is called the Vincent Welch Solar Project. A public meeting on the proposal was held at the end of May.

If the property is deemed safe for development, NYSERDA designs and plans the project as if it were a private developer. The agency can negotiate tax breaks and legally binding agreements with the municipality for projects that improve the quality of life of residents.

NYSERDA would then auction the site to a private developer who could begin construction. Sources told News 4 Investigates the process could take years.

While a NYSERDA spokesperson provided the Niagara Gazette with details of the proposal, the agency declined to answer specific questions from News 4 Investigates.

A NYSERDA spokesperson told the Niagara Gazette that the proposed site is west of the closed and covered section of Love Canal between 93rd and 95th streets. The spokesperson told the newspaper that initial plans call for a system that “does not require posts or post holes to stay in place.”

The spokesperson also said that these renewable energy projects are designed for contaminated land such as brownfields, abandoned industrial sites and other contaminated land such as the Love Canal.

This is the second solar farm proposal on contaminated land being considered in Niagara County.

NYSERDA signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Wheatfield and Niagara County in late June to discuss a 60-acre solar farm project at the Witmer Road Landfill.

The Witmer Road Landfill was in operation from 1969 to 1976.

A feasibility study is carried out to determine whether the property can be reused for a renewable energy project.