Renewable Energy

In 2010, contractors prepared greenhouse gas inventories for each region of New York State down to the county level. For Ontario County. The emissions from all considered sources was estimated at 1,830,439 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MTCDE). To put this in perspective, it would take about 2 million acres of average U.S. forest growth to scrub these emissions from the air and store them into biomass. 

Renewable energy is the energy collected from naturally replenished sources. Energy sources are generally considered renewable if they regenerate within the human timescale. Currently, the primary sources of renewable energy are sunlight, biomass, wind, water, and geothermal heat. These sources generate energy through a system. For example, sunlight is converted to electricity through a solar panel system.

Clean energy and improvements in energy efficiency are key to a greener future. We have compiled resources here to help answer any questions you may have.

For those interested in a greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator the EPA has created this document for people to understand how they come up with calculations used to convert greenhouse gas emission numbers into different types of equivalent units.

Anaerobic Digestion: Anaerobic digesters (AD) are a system for capturing methane from organic material. AD systems use microbes to breakdown complex molecules in the absence of oxygen. The recovered methane can be used for heating, cooking, or generating electricity.

Anaerobic digestion systems are in use on a few of our local dairy farms in Ontario County and are growing in popularity.

New York farms can grow their operations and reap savings with investments in clean energy and energy efficiency. Reducing equipment and facility energy consumption also affords greater comfort and safety for employees and assets – all while improving a farm’s bottom line.

Solar Energy: Cornell Cooperative Extension provides consumers with unbiased, research-based information to enable them to make informed decisions for themselves and their families. In this section, you will find information on solar energy that may help you to decide whether solar is right for you and your home.

For more information on state incentives, as well as general information about solar, visit NYSERDA's NY Sun program site. There, you can also find information on tax credits and financing options for residential customers.

Solar Land Leasing: If you own land you would like to lease, consider the installation of a solar farm. The state of New York currently has a high demand for sites to install large-scale solar electric systems. Solar developers are contacting farmers and landowners to secure long-term land leases; the amount of land desirable for a lease typically ranges from 10 to 30 acres. Visit this link to learn more about specific considerations, and the potential impacts of solar land leases. Mike Nuckols, Local Foods and Horticulture Program Manager with CCE Jefferson County, created a very useful resource on "Considerations When Leasing Agricultural Lands to Solar Developers."

One of the most important considerations for whether your land is a viable option for hosting a solar farm is whether there is adequate capacity on the electrical utility lines nearby. Every utility in NY State is required to submit maps of their interconnection capacity, called capacity hosting maps. While they may not be super accurate, they do give a good starting point to see whether the lines adjacent to the property you are considering leasing can absorb more electricity. The Public Service Commission has a list of each utility's Utility Hosting Capacity Map; just click on your utility, then, ideally, look for 3-phase lines that still have some hosting capacity on them. The lines adjacent to your property are not likely to meet both those criteria, but the closer you can get the better.

The next step is to reach out to potential developers. A good place to start is with the list of solar developers already working in your area, which can be found on NYSERDA's list of solar farm developers in NY State. You may also consider listing your property with a group like https://www.agrisolarclearinghouse.org or https://www.solarlandlease.com (We don't endorse either of these, but only mention them as possible resources.) Typically, you don't pay for listing your property, developers pay these services to get information about properties, but it's still a good idea to look closely at what you're signing up for.

Ag & Solar: The Ag-Solar Working Group, under the umbrella of the Community and Energy Program Work Team, serves to support Cornell faculty and CCE educator efforts in responding to their community’s needs on the topic of solar development and land use, with a focus on commercial solar and its impact on agriculture in NYS.

NYS, driven by transformative state policies, is transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy at a rapid pace and scale, with implications that cross the boundaries of equity, farming, energy, natural resources, and community development – requiring a systems-level understanding. The Ag-Solar Working Group’s state-wide and cross-boundary scope is therefore particularly important to help our communities balance competing priorities for ag-land conservation and clean energy deployment.

If you are interested in more research-based information happening at Cornell University please visit our Sustainable Solar web site for more information about the wide range of projects Cornell faculty, staff, and students are involved in.

Much of the work of this working group has been in collaboration with partners, including NY and PA Farm Bureaus, the American Farmland Trust, the American Solar Grazing Association, Penn State Extension, and others. In particular, CCE and Penn State Extension have worked together on a series of webinars, recordings of which can be found at https://extension.psu.edu/energy/renewable-and-alternative-energy/renewable-energy-resources.

Last updated June 9, 2024