Two Rivers Massena and Brasher

Application filed

Boralex has officially filed any application with the state Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission (ORES). A digital copy of the application files is available on the ORES website here. 

The application may be examined during normal business hours at the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and the following local document repositories: BADENHAUSEN PUBLIC LIBRARY at 4 MAIN ST. BRASHER FALLS, NY 13613 and MASSENA PUBLIC LIBRARY at 41 GLENN STREET, MASSENA, NY 13662.

Pursuant to 16 NYCRR § 1100-5;, Two Rivers Solar will submit with the Application $1,000 dollars for each MW of capacity for local agencies and potential intervenors, which for this project totals $200,000. Any local agency or potential community intervenor can submit a request to the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission for funding within thirty (30) days of the date of the application filing. Of the available local agency account funds, 75% shall be reserved for local agencies. 

Intervenor requests can be mailed to: Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission, Attn: Request for Local Agency Account Funding Request (Matter No. 23-02991 – Two Rivers Solar Farm, LLC), c/o OGS Mailroom, Empire State Plaza, 240 State Street, P-1 South, J Dock, Albany, NY 12242; or emailed to: hearings@ores.ny.gov | Subject line: Local Agency Account Funding Request (Matter No. 23-02991 Two Rivers Solar Farm, LLC)

Go to https://dps.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2024/09/request-for-local-agency-account-funding-2024-08-20.pdf  for a form with instructions on how to submit a LAAF request. Requests can be submitted via email (hearings@ores.ny.gov) or mail (ORES, Attn: Local Agency Account Fund Request [Matter No. 23-02991], c/o OGS Mailroom, Empire State Plaza, 240 State Street, P-1 South, J Dock, Albany, NY 12242). 

We note that on Friday January 25, 2025 we received notification that the case number of the Two Rivers Solar Project proceeding was changing as a result of the migration of the electronic case file in this matter from the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission (ORES) Permit Application Portal to the Department of Public Service (DPS) Document and Matter Management (DMM) system.  As a result, the case number has been changed from ORES Permit Application No. 23-00053 to ORES DMM Matter No. 23-02991. 

Contact information for ORES consistent with 16 NYCRR § 1100-1.4(a)(4)(viii).

For General Inquiries, please contact ORES via the following methods:

Mailing Information (letters and envelopes):
Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES)
c/o: OGS Mailroom
Empire State Plaza
P-1 South, J Dock
Albany, NY 12242
Phone: (518) 473-4590
Email: general@ores.ny.gov

3-day notice*

Beginning January 23, 2025 3-Day Notices of Boralex's intent to file an application to construct the Two Rivers Solar Facility started appearing in weekly newspapers in the region. Additional notices were mailed to residents within 1-mile of the proposed bid facility. Boralex intends to file the application with the Office of Renewable Energy Siting on January 30, 2025. 

60-day notice*

Boralex intends to submit an application to the state Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) on or about December 15th, 2024. A notice was sent to all residents within 1-mile of the proposed facility and ads were placed in the St. Lawrence County Free Trader and the St. Lawrence County edition of the Watertown Daily Times. 

_{*Copies of the notices are available under documents}

Permitting process

Currently in early-stage development, the facility is expected to be commissioned in Q2 2028.

Boralex has begun to engage with the local community (e.g. landowner, town and county representatives, state officials, school districts and groups of interest) and will pursue this consultation process throughout all phases of development and operations.

Environmental and permitting activities began in Q3 2021 and will be governed under the new Article VIII state permitting process through the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES). Permitting activities are expected to span throughout 2024. All project infrastructure will be situated in such a manner as to respect municipal, state, and federal regulations as well as taking into consideration feedback from residents and other stakeholders.

Environmental and Health Impacts

• Grassland birds: The Facility has been designed to avoid habitat to the extent practicable, and Boralex will mitigate for regulated activities in occupied habitat.
• Wetlands and streams: The Facility has been designed to avoid State and Federal wetlands and waterbodies to the extent practicable, and Boralex will mitigate for regulated activities in wetlands and waterbodies.
• Visual resources: All findings of the Visual Impact Assessment are provided in the Article VIII application, and planting plans are proposed to reduce Facility visibility.
• Water resources: The well survey identified two water supply wells on non-participating parcels were identified within 500 feet of proposed horizontal direction drilling (HDD) locations; the Applicant will comply with all required pre- and post-construction well testing.
• Archaeological and historic architectural resources: Archaeological surveys identified one site near the Facility that are potentially eligible for National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) classification. Boralex revised the Facility design to avoid the site and its 50-foot buffer, and submitted an Avoidance Plan detailing the protective measures that will be taken during construction to further avoid and protect these areas.