NYS likely to permit 567 acres of unique Fort Edward grasslands to be blanketed with solar panels.
As most of our supporters know, Boralex, a renewable energy company, applied to the NYS Office of Renewable Energy Siting (“ORES”) to build a commercial solar facility in Fort Edward in August 2024.
Specifically, the proposed solar facility will be sited in an Audubon designated Important Bird Area, a Natural Heritage Winter Raptor Concentration Area, and will be in immediate proximity to a nearly 500-acre NYS DEC Wildlife Management Area managed for grassland birds.
Refer to the Fort Edward Solar Project map below.
GBT supports renewable energy and did not attempt to stop this project. Instead, we asked for a compromise.
GBT asked ORES to require Boralex to make up the damage the project will cause to grassland birds by permanently conserving 567 acres of grassland bird habitat – the same amount of land as will be covered with solar panels. According to ORES regulations, the required amount of “mitigation land” is only 216 acres.
GBT’s compromise has not been accepted.
On Monday, October 27, 2025, the ORES staff ruled against GBT, making it likely that the Administrative Judges in charge of this case will affirm this staff decision at the end of November, and that the permit will be granted before the end of May, 2026. Further, there is no indication to date that ORES will require Boralex to mitigate the damage to the grassland birds by conserving more than 216 acres.
GBT is not giving up!
GBT will continue urging Boralex to conserve more land to make up for the damage it is causing to grassland birds.
This ruling underscores the importance of GBT acquiring and permanently conserving more land for the grassland birds that are rapidly vanishing from New York State.
You keep us focused and determined!
We want to thank you, our supporters, for your financial support, for showing up at the public comments hearing on September 30, 2025, and for submitting not only verbal, but also hundreds of written comments to ORES supporting GBT’s position.
Thanks to your help, GBT has greatly increased awareness about the need to protect grassland birds in our region. This awareness will be invaluable to GBT as we seek more public and private funding, legislation, and volunteer assistance to prevent these birds from disappearing from NYS forever.
Proposed Fort Edward Solar Farm Site Map
