Sam Raudins is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Hudson Common Council Solar Farm Ad Hoc Committee is moving ahead with the early stages of two potential solar projects. Peter Bujanow, the city Commissioner of Public Works, presented the draft of a request for expression of interest document to the committee last week. The parcels sought for solar farm development are in the North Bay — the Atlas Brickyard, with 10 acres of developable land, and the North Second Street extension, with 5.3 acres. Portions of each parcel are wetlands, consisting of tidal marshes, clay bluffs and stream-fed forested ravines. Bujanow said the objective is to find a solar company interested in the location. The 120 acres that make up the city's North Bay include the remnants of an industrial brownfield and a 20-acre landfill that closed in 2000. The request for proposals is intended to help the city evaluate the level of interest from developers and site users, gauge interest in alternative methods of developing solar energy in the city, and solicit interest from firms and individuals looking to assist. The city intends to lease the properties "as is,' to a developer for 25 years. The document now goes to Conservation Advisory Council and the full Common Council for comment. If approved by the council, responses from potential developers would be submitted four weeks later. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.