Contributed Photo HelioSage completed a solar array last winter at a landfill in Massachusetts, allowing a township to purchase electricity at a lower rate than the local utility was offering.

College plans solar farm

Story by Dan Hust
LOCH SHELDRAKE — January 14, 2014 — SUNY Sullivan and partner HelioSage can proceed with a nine-acre solar farm, thanks to a conditional site plan approval.
Issued by the Fallsburg Planning Board at its Thursday meeting, the approval allows a private Virginia-based commercial solar power developer to construct and operate the array next to the college in Loch Sheldrake.
SUNY Sullivan will pay HelioSage for the nearly two megawatts of electricity the farm is expected to generate (estimated to cover about 60 percent of the college’s annual needs) and use the facility as part of its educational program.
Anticipated to be built this year, the ground-mounted panels will cover the bulk of a 12-acre parcel near County Route 104 and the college’s dorms.
“SUNY Sullivan is very pleased with the support it has been shown by both the Town of Fallsburg and HelioSage in moving this exciting project forward,” College President Karin Hilgersom told the Demo­crat. “Not only will the college realize an immediate positive financial impact from the installation and operation of the solar array, but our environmental impact will also be reduced, which is in line with our overall sustainability goals.
“We hope that our commitment to sustainable energy sources illustrates our overall commitment to the communities we serve.”