Daniel Zuckerman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Coxsackie Town Board May 8, unanimously approved a six-month extension of its townwide solar moratorium. The ban went into effect in December, and was created "to protect the health, safety and welfare of town residents," according to the law. Like other municipalities, Coxsackie's original solar law was written in 2016, at a time when lawmakers could not have anticipated the development of large-scale solar facilities like those now being proposed. The moratorium temporarily halted the processing of applications, and issuance of permits, certificates of occupancy and approval of land use related to solar energy systems and farms. The extended moratorium will allow the town board more time to review the details of the law. “We’re just trying to get this solar law right,” board member Michael Veeder said. “We’re taking a lot of notes and going to talk to counsel.” Veeder wants to see solar projects built on unusable land rather than on quality farmland, he said. “I have grandkids here and we’re protecting this land for their use, as well,” he said. “We’re trying to make regulations good enough so that people on the [town] board have options.” The group Saving Greene: Citizens for Sensible Solar are pleased with the board's decision to extend the moratorium, group member Kim Rose said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.