Largest ORES solar complex sited for Adirondack Park on "hold" amid money concerns
Boralex, the same Canadian renewable corporation behind Fort Edward Solar, this morning announced their plans for Foothills Solar on the Great Sacandaga Lake are on "hold" for now.
It appears the cracks in the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) foundation are spreading. First, the Executive Director, Zeryai Hagos, suddenly resigns at the end of April, forcing the Deputy Executive Director, Jason Zehr, into the role of Interim Executive Director.
And now, the largest solar complex sited for the Adirondack Park in Upstate New York, Foothills Solar, a 40MW facility, is officially on hold as Boralex, the developer, blames money woes.
Boralex is the same Canadian renewable developer behind the 100MW Fort Edward Solar, sited for one of the last grasslands of its kind throughout the Northeast. The Fort Edward Grasslands carries numerous environmental distinctions, including a National Audubon Important Bird Area label, as well as a Winter Raptor Concentration Area per our state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
Boralex relies heavily on its law firm, Young/Sommer, to ram these projects through the New York State pipeline with the unwavering help of ORES. Nearly 100% of the time, ORES awards final permits to foreign solar and wind developers despite expert testimony, submitted studies, overwhelming local pushback, letters from town supervisors and local legislators, and bad press.
The Fort Edward Grasslands are now littered in “Stop Boralex” signs, plastered all over dozens of lawns. The Canadian corporation had enjoyed little to no bad local coverage until the end of 2025 when I started to publicly document the ORES permitting process and what had transpired at Fort Edward Solar.
Fast forward to today, Monday, May 11th, and Boralex spokesperson Zack Hutchins confirmed that, in regards to Foothills Solar, “conditions to build are not ideal at this time.”
The “conditions” in question include money from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Without the right amount of money given to solar developers through NYSERDA (our taxes) and from the delivery charges applied to our electricity bills (the socialized attempt to bailout wind and solar), these projects cannot stand on their own.
In the case of Foothills Solar, sited for the rural and remote Mayfield, New York, next to the Great Sacandaga Lake, Boralex is struggling with an area that does “not having huge transmission capacity.”
Before a solar project can operate, it has to physically connect into the electric grid run by New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). That connection requires studies, approvals, and sometimes major upgrades to nearby power lines or substations.
When a new solar project wants to connect, engineers check whether the grid can handle that extra power. If the grid can’t handle the extra power, upgrades are required.
Who has to pay for those upgrades? In this case, the developer does. If the system needs new lines, substation upgrades, or other infrastructure, the cost falls on the project developer. Those costs can suddenly jump into the millions (or tens of millions).
Boralex doesn’t intend to pay for those transmission updates. They want New York State to pay for those changes. If the state can’t provide that kind of financial insulation, then the foreign solar developers aren’t interested. Boralex wants to lock into a higher Renewable Energy Credit (REC) price that will subsidize the needed upgrades so they can maximize their profits.
They want to “rebid” with NYSERDA. So far, NYSERDA has not agreed to do that.
With no credits or subsidies, commercial solar collapses
As Boralex rushed to local news platforms this morning to blame the Foothills Solar pause on tariffs and not “ideal conditions” to build, they accidentally admitted what we’ve all speculated for years about renewable buildout in Upstate New York: it’s all about money.
It’s never been about saving the climate. If the subsidies and credits disappear, so do the corporations. That’s why ORES was created in a way where it exempts the developers from having to follow our environmental laws in New York State. It’s a mad-dash for green energy subsidies before they disappear.
Are those subsidies finally drying up? Does Boralex know New York State might not be as financially viable in the future? Without these financial safety nets, commercial solar generates such a pathetic and unreliable amount of energy that the complexes cannot stand on their own in an open market.
It also admitted something else: New York State is courting developers and issuing final permits for projects that do not have the interconnection capacity/infrastructure buildout to actually tie the complexes into the grid or move the electricity.
Why would ORES award permits to projects it knows the state can’t accommodate on a transmission level?
If you guessed money, you guessed correctly… again!
When ORES issues final permits to developers, they get SEVEN years to commence construction.
Why such a long timeline?
The developers now have a sellable asset in the form of a final permit. They will exchange and sell the LLC/permit multiple times before the complex is actually built. The developer already made money by acquiring that permit.
The problem is that prime farmland, wetlands, and grassland habitat is now locked into 30+ year leases with foreign corporations, free to be sold and exchanged to dozens of other companies before it’s time to build. The local community has no familiarity with the company that finally decides to put its shovel in the ground. The sellable asset is so far removed from the initial permit holder that the latest developer has no ties or vested interest in honoring the local communities, wildlife, soils, or businesses.
New York State KNOWS it doesn’t have the grid design to accommodate these projects. It’s approving final permits with foreign corporations anyway.
This has never, ever been about the panels themselves. We are witnessing the greatest wealth transfer of our lifetimes, from generational landowners to foreign corpoartions. It’s all happening under the guise of “clean energy.”
It’s imperative that everyone wake up to this, and soon. First it’s solar and wind. Next comes battery storage. And finally, at the end of the pipeline comes the data center. It’s happening countrywide.
Hands off the Adirondack Park
The Adirondack Park is the largest park in the United States, home to idyllic views, mountains, pristine lakes and rivers, bountiful wildlife, history, and hiking trails.
It should never, ever play host to an ORES ecological detention center. With battery storage sited for all parts of the park presently, the battle is far from over defending my favorite place in the country from ORES, the DEC, and our governor.
But a “hold” is something. The cracks are spreading. Please spread the word and get active in your local town by attending board and zoning meetings. This playbook is coming to a rural village near you.
Much more coverage to come. I have some exciting things I am waiting for the “OK” to share on here. Stay tuned.
¡Brava! Super proud of all your efforts!!
Alexandra, you are a one-woman army of Amazons! I have the greatest admiration for your dedication to this fight for the health and wellbeing of NY State wildlife, citizens, and wildernesses.