After three lawsuits were filed against ORES last week, executive director steps down
In a shocking turn of events, not even 24-hours after three lawsuits were filed against the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, the executive director, Zeryai Hagos, stepped down.
It certainly wasn’t a headline many of us were expecting to see on April 28, 2026. By mid-morning, the New York Department of Public Service (DPS), which houses the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES), published a press released that stated the current executive director of ORES, Zeryai Hagos, had officially stepped down. The deputy executive director, Jason Zehr, was appointed interim executive director while the DPS conducts a “nationwide search” to find a replacement.
ORES was created in 2020, hidden inside a budget bill that was passed on April 2, 2020 while the world sheltered in place at home. The first executive director, Houtan Moaveni, was installed to lead the agency that began its unchecked unilateral buildout of commercial solar and wind the following year.
I wanted to compare Hagos’ sudden resignation to Moaveni completing his term as the executive director. Perhaps this is business as usual at ORES?
By 2024, Moaveni had completed his contracted term as executive director. ORES had its next executive director, Jessica Waldorf, lined up for May 2024 when Moaveni’s reign had ended.
By the end of 2024, Zeryai Hagos had been named the executive director of ORES. He resigned not even 18-months later.
So why did Hagos suddenly resign from his position overseeing ORES? Why didn’t he complete his time as executive director like Moaveni before him? In the months following up to his resignation, Hagos was regularly posting to LinkedIn, bragging about the permits he had issued for major renewable complexes in Upstate New York. Why the change of heart?
Triple lawsuit filing
On Monday, April 27, 2026, three different lawsuits out of Montgomery County, New York were filed against ORES, the DPS, New York State, and ConnectGen Montgomery County.
The first was Montgomery County itself versus ORES, filed by the county attorney, Meghan Manion.
This lawsuit points out the cumulative loss Montgomery County will shoulder if all ORES projects sited for the county are allowed to be built. The economic ruin, catastrophic impacts to the Amish, and destruction of the pastoral way of life will cause the county, in many ways, to collapse.
For a county to have to pass a resolution to allows its attorney to sue the state itself… should tell you something is very, very wrong here.
The next lawsuit filed, designed to complement the Montgomery County lawsuit, was GlenFARMLand Inc. versus ORES. GlenFARMLand is a nonprofit that’s fighting Mill Point Solar, a nearly 3,000 acre solar complex sited for the town of Glen, New York.
I have had the pleasure of getting to know those working at GlenFARMLand. I was also pleased to announce this was the first lawsuit my nonprofit, American Land Rescue Fund, was able to help fund.
The GlenFARMLand lawsuit calls out the disgusting behavior by ORES against the Amish, as well as their continued ignorance of expert testimonies, studies, and reports submitted to the ORES docket. Montgomery County is where the Amish community who built my farm resides.
As I always joke, one thing about me is… I will absolutely form a nonprofit, post every day, raise money, donate that money, help fund a lawsuit, and do everything I can to help the Amish community. It was an honor to be able to do that here.
The final lawsuit filed in conjunction with the two mentioned above included the Town of Glen versus ORES.
This lawsuit attacks ORES’s denial of local participation, waiver of local laws, and refusal to hold a hearing. The Town of Glen was shut out of weighing in on Mill Point Solar completely.
The lawsuit goes on to ask the court to annul/vacate:
the ALJ (Attorney Law Judge) ruling denying party status
the Executive Director’s January 27, 2026 decision
and the final siting permit issued to ConnectGen
Legally motivated ORES turnover
As mentioned above, not even 24-hours later Hagos was out. The agency now rests with an interim executive director who has easily searchable conflicts of interest with current and future permitted ORES projects. Hence, the press release admits the DPS is conducting an aggressive and far-reaching search to find a permanent executive director.
It’s a role that pays much more than the NYS Assemblymembers and Senators are earning.
The interim executive director is now left with a job I don’t imagine many people want on their to-do list. The Fort Edward Solar application was deemed complete on May 27, 2025. Under Article VIII rules, the agency has one-year to issue a final decision. That means ORES needs to grant the final permit to Fort Edward Solar by May 27, 2026. I have very transparently stated that we intend to sue over the final permit issued to Fort Edward Solar, on the grounds that it goes against nearly every single environmental law in New York State.
If they don’t issue the final permit, they lose control of the project, and questions from developers arise. Since the developers control ORES (regulatory capture), that won’t happen. But transparent coverage, press, and detailing what’s happening within this shadow agency is my right as a free American.
ORES has enjoyed close to no coverage since its inception until the end of 2025. If fair and accurate reporting on their ongoings causes executive directors to resign, then perhaps it’s time to reevaluate the office, as well as the 2019 Climate Act that has provided the extremist foundation for this kind of governmental overreach.
We have some interesting news to share in the coming week, so check back here every Monday for my ongoing coverage of the destruction of our American environment in the name of big solar, wind, battery store, and AI data centers.
I believe we can have technological progress, cheap power, and locally-grown food without destroying 3,000 acres of designated grassland at a time. I will be covering all of this and more, so stick around.
Can I just say what an archetype of Justice you have become? I have been watching you from the beginning and am so impressed by your diligence, your passion and your fortitude. You give me hope in the dark hours of the night when all seems lost. Thank you for everything you do, for your unflagging spirit and passion, and your stellar sense of right and wrong.
AMAZING!!! FANTASTIC!!! WOOOOOHOOOOOO! The Universe does indeed work in mystery ways. Keep exposing that darkness to light and love. That is the beautiful long game that wins this in the end.