Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment has granted the next level of approval to Hecate Energy Albany, the developer of a 40-megawatt commercial solar farm proposed for a 400-acre site between Routes 9W and 101 in the town of Coeymans in southern Albany County. The Siting Board okayed a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need on January 7. Once built, the project is expected to generate approximately 73,000-megawatt hours of energy annually. The project will generate up to $3.6 million in local property tax revenues over 30 years and create 140 construction jobs, according to the developer. Hecate filed its Public Involvement Program plan for the project in 2017 and held its first informational open house in Coeymans in 2018. Coeymans Town Supervisor George McHugh welcomed the board's approval. “I’m very happy that the state Siting Board approved the solar farm slated for Coeymans,” McHugh said. “This green energy project will result in greater tax revenues for the town, county and school district.” The project was not without opposition. Staff at the state Department of Agriculture and Markets opposed the use of prime farmland for the project, but the Siting Board unanimously approved the developer's certificate. Once completed, the Coeyman's Solar Farm is projected to generate enough clean electricity to power 8,000 average-sized homes a year. Read the full story in The Ravena News-Herald.