On Aug. 5 Hecate Energy sent the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment their Preliminary Scoping Statement for an industrial-sized, 60-megawatt solar facility with 200,000 solar panels on 500 acres near the intersection of State Route 23 and County Route 7 in Copake. The project is called Shepherd’s Run Solar. The document released Aug. 5 includes 361 pages of information about the construction of the proposed project, as well as its environmental impact. Hecate Energy had promised two open house meetings with residents before the documents were released, but only appeared at a July 9 Copake Town Board meeting. Project Developer Alex Campbell said at that meeting that he would think about how to schedule public online meetings along with an in-person meeting in the fall. Public comments can be submitted at www.shepherdsrunsolar.com/open-house, by email at openhouse@shepherdsrunsolar.com or via phone at 877-772-0822. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.