Solar permitting — Ontario County, New York
637 indexed meetings (41 energy-related), 2 news items, 2 known opposition groups.
Finger Lakes; Canandaigua; Finger Lakes CC; active solar; ORES ≥25 MW; growing. Permitting: Municipal SUP/Special Permit for <20 MW. ≥20 MW: ORES. Track record: no prior utility-scale solar on record — greenfield jurisdiction; no est…
Permitting process
Local permitting pathway
Municipal SUP/Special Permit for <20 MW. ≥20 MW: ORES (Article 94-c) bypasses local zoning.
Setbacks & buffers
None codified at county level. ORES sets conditions for ≥20 MW; municipal zoning governs <20 MW.
Spacing requirements
None codified.
Size restrictions
None codified.
Penalties & bonding
No penalties or adjustments. Standard CUP/SUP process.
State-level permits & approvals
New York Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES), established April 2020 under Executive Law §94-c (Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act): exclusive jurisdiction for projects ≥25 MW. Projects 20–25 MW may opt-in to ORES process. Sub-20 MW: local zoning governs. ORES can preempt local laws if 'unreasonably burdensome' to project — Third Department Appellate Court upheld this preemption authority (2023). ORES must issue siting permit within 12 months of completeness determination (6 months for repurposed/brownfield sites); if not decided, permit is deemed granted. RAPID Act (2024): consolidated major renewable energy + major electric transmission into single ORES process; draft regulations Dec 18, 2024 (public comment closed Mar 2025); implementing new pre-application consultation requirements including mandatory Indigenous Nation consultations. As of Mar 2026, ORES has issued 15 final siting permits totaling 2.3 GW. NYISO interconnection required statewide. All 62 NY counties in NYISO territory.
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State policy & grid context
State RPS & clean energy policy
70% by 2030, 100% zero-emission by 2040 | CLCPA (2019) | NYS PSL §66-p
State incentive programs
NY-Sun Initiative (NYSERDA): residential and commercial/industrial solar incentives; MW Block program provides upfront incentives per W-DC (declining block). NY Community Distributed Generation (CDG): community solar, Brooklyn-Queens neighborhood program. NY CLCPA (Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act): 70% RES by 2030; 100% clean by 2040; largest clean energy commitment of any state. NYISO RECs and ZECs: wholesale market credits support development. NY Article 94-c (ORES): state permit for ≥20 MW; preempts local opposition. NY Green Bank: project financing support. Utility varies by county: Con Edison (NYC/Westchester); National Grid (Long Island/Upstate); NYSEG (Southern Tier/North Country); Central Hudson (Hudson Valley); RG&E (Rochester); O&R (Orange/Rockland).
Grid & interconnection
NYISO Zone C (Central — National Grid / NYSEG)
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Battery storage (BESS) P1 State-Default Permitting
No confirmed standalone county BESS ordinance (county-level)
Local BESS ordinances & bylaws
County-level battery-storage status, safety requirements, and projects — each linked to a primary source.
Community opposition P1 2 tracked
Organized opposition signals on record for this county — petitions, community groups, and oppositional coverage — each linked to its primary source.
- Petition · Stop the Proposed Battery Storage Facility on Clarington Ontario's Greenbelt Storage
- Topic · Ontario bess Storage
SitePath maintains the most complete community-opposition dataset available, refreshed continuously from primary sources.
Subscriber intel Subscribers
Researched for this county and available with a subscription:
- 🔒Project track record
- 🔒Developer intelligence
- 🔒Community & board sentiment
- 🔒Governing board
Energy-related meetings & dockets P1
Halo color = sentiment of the relevant agenda excerpt: green positive, yellow neutral, red negative.
- 5267-10-27 OtherData Center
The Planning Commission voted to deny a special-use permit application for a 150 MW solar farm.
- 5266-11-24 OtherData Center
The Planning Commission voted to approve a special-use permit application for a 150 MW solar farm.
- 5265-12-15 OtherData Center
The Planning Commission voted to approve a special-use permit application for a 150 MW solar farm.
- 2024-12-11 OtherSolar
The Town of Victor approved a local law to amend and/or repeal Chapter 103 (Energy Systems) and Chapter 211 (Zoning) to regulate solar facilities.
- 2024-10-09 OtherSolar
Town Board approved a local law imposing a six-month moratorium on the review, approval, permitting, and construction of large-scale solar energy systems in the Town of Victor.
- 2024-10-09 OtherSolar
The Zoning Board of Appeals is considering an area variance for a community solar project on two parcels of land.
- 2024-10-08 OtherBESS
The county discussed a battery storage project, including onsite energy storage and land maintenance.
- 2024-10-08 OtherBESS
The county discussed a battery storage project, including onsite energy storage and land maintenance.
- 2024-09-11 OtherBESS
Town Board approved a Local Law to establish a one-year moratorium on large-scale solar energy systems and large-scale battery energy storage systems in the Town of West Bloom eld.
- 2024-09-11 OtherBESS
The county board voted to retain a referral as a class 1 and return it to the local board with comments.
- 2024-09-10 OtherBESS
The battery storage project is being considered for approval or denial by the Planning Commission.
- 2024-09-10 OtherBESS
The battery storage project is being considered for approval or denial by the Planning Commission.
- 2024-08-14 OtherSolar
The Planning Commission approved a special-use permit application for a proposed 150 MW solar farm in Ontario County
- 2024-08-13 OtherSolar
The Planning Commission approved a special-use permit application for a 150 MW solar farm in Ontario County.
- 2024-08-13 OtherSolar
The Planning Commission approved a special-use permit application for a proposed solar farm in CANANDAIGUA, NY.
- 2024-08-13 OtherSolar
The Planning Commission approved a special-use permit application for a proposed solar farm in CANANDAIGUA, NY.
- 2024-05-08 OtherSolar
The Town of East Bloomfield Planning Board approved a special-use permit for a proposed 4.482 MWAC Large Scale Solar Energy system.
- 2024-05-08 OtherSolar
The Planning Commission approved a special-use permit application for an Abundant Solar Power Site Plan
- 2024-05-08 OtherSolar
Planning boards in Ontario County reviewed site plans and special use permits for various solar projects.
- 2024-05-07 OtherSolar
Planning boards in Ontario County reviewed site plans and special use permits for various solar power projects.
- 2024-05-07 OtherSolar
The Planning Commission approved a special-use permit application for an Abundant Solar Power Site Plan
- 2024-04-10 OtherSolar
Town Board approved a special-use permit for a 150 MW solar farm in Hopewell
- 2024-04-10 OtherSolar
Town Board approves Local Law imposing a six-month moratorium on large scale solar energy systems in Victor
- 2024-04-10 OtherSolar
Town Board approved a special-use permit for a 150 MW solar farm in Hopewell
- 2024-03-13 OtherBESS
County officials discussed plans for an on-site battery energy storage system at a solar facility.
- 2024-03-13 OtherSolar
The Town of Victor Planning Board approved a site plan for a 4.428 MWAC solar energy facility.
- 2024-03-12 OtherBESS
The Town of Farmington Zoning Board of Appeals voted to approve a proposal for an on-site battery energy storage system.
- 2024-03-12 OtherBESS
The Planning Commission approved a special-use permit application for an on-site battery energy storage system.
- 2024-02-13 OtherSolar
Village Board approved a Text Amendment to amend the Village of Phelps zoning law to add solar energy systems regulations.
- 2023-11-16 OtherData Center
Data center project discussed at local government meeting
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State PSC dockets P1
No tracked activity yet — coverage expands weekly.
Sentiment rollup P2
No sentiment rollup yet (requires meeting transcripts to be processed).
Local news P3
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