TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE – Clearway Community Solar unveiled a 17-acre solar farm in the Town of Poughkeepsie on Monday. Considered one of the largest solar farms in New York, the panel-filled field formerly served as a pasture for Black Angus cattle and now holds over 8,000 solar panels capable of generating three megawatts of electricity and has a life expectancy of 35 years.
The Underhill Solar Farm, nestled in a clearing surrounded by Plan Bee Farm brewery, a honey farm, and cattle farm, is the first Clearway Community Solar Farm to be placed in service in the Central Hudson service area.
According to Clearway representatives, in the first year of operation, the average customer of the farm will have helped offset the greenhouse gas emissions of driving a car over 16,000 miles.
Drew Warshaw, Clearway’s vice-president for “Community Solar,” said the electricity generated by the solar panels is transmitted to subscribing customers over Central Hudson’s power lines.
Poughkeepsie Town Supervisor Jay Baisley called the farm a great alternative for those seeking solar power without having panels placed on the roof of their homes. “Not everyone wants solar panels on their roof – this is the direction they can go in.” Max Joel of NYSERDA called the farm “truly the New Green Deal at work.”
