Informational Meeting Tonight for Town of Columbia Solar Farms

A company looking to install 3,500 acres worth of solar panels on unused farmland in the town of Columbia is hosting a meeting tonight for residents living near the project.

EDF Renewables is hosting tonight's meeting from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at Francesca's Banquet Hall in Ilion. Concerned residents Tom Cotton and Pastor Ed Reid joined the Keeler in the Morning Show on Wednesday, urging town of Columbia property owners and farmers to attend and get their questions answered.

Much of the land EDF Renewables is looking to build on has an agricultural exemption, something Cotton and Reid say would go away once the land becomes a solar farm. The impact on property values is unknown, they said, another reason farmers and property owners in Columbia should attend.

Cotton and Reid believed farmers who've agreed to lease their land will be paid $750 per acre, per year, with payments increasing 2% annually, they said.

The energy farmed by the panels would be transferred and used by downstate customers, they said.