Daniel Zuckerman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media representatives of solar company Cypress Creek Renewables made the company's case for a hardship waiver to the Coxsackie Town Board, February 13. The temporary ban suspends processing of applications and issuing of permits, certificates of occupancy and approvals of certain land uses related to solar energy systems and farms. Established in November, the moratorium is intended to give solar companies the opportunity to come forward if they are experiencing financial hardship, Coxsackie Town Supervisor Richard Hanse said. Cypress Creek applied to build a 2-megawatt, 15-acre solar facility on Murders Kill Road in June, after a solar code was established in the town. The company has since spent more than $500,000 in nonrefundable interconnection payments, surveys, engineering and environmental studies. “You have a moratorium that puts that in jeopardy,” project attorney Thomas Puchner said. “If Cypress...doesn’t have certainty that they have a path forward, they’ll have to cancel the project, and all that is lost.” The company has demonstrated extraordinary hardship and the waiver should be granted, Puchner said. Supervisor Hanse said, “All five of us are searching our souls and researching the information to see if we believe that they proved their case of hardship." A determination on Cypress Creek's waiver request is expected within 15 days. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.