Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Hecate Energy has announced the donation of a firefighting Utility Terrain Vehicle to the Coxsackie fire department. Hecate's 50-megawatt energy project, proposed for about 400 acres on Farm to Market Road, will use approximately 170,000 solar panels. Hecate’s application for this project was ruled complete by the state Board on Electric Siting and the Environment in September. The company expects to receive its certificate and begin construction within 10 months, a company spokesperson said. As part of the host community benefits program, the company will donate a UTV to Coxsackie Hose Company No. 3 when construction begins. The UTV will be equipped with a mounted winch, windshield and roof, specialty safety lighting, safety kit and a firefighting skid unit. A 20-foot trailer for hauling the UTV to remote locations will also be donated. The Chicago-based company proposed a $4 million to $6 million local revenue program, to be allocated to the town, school, county, fire department, ambulance squad and library over the project’s 35-year lifespan. The facility is expected to begin operations in 2022. On the other side of the river, the response to another Hecate solar proposal has been different. The industrial-sized solar panel installation slated for Craryville, a hamlet of Copake, led to the founding of the Sensible Solar for Rural New York coalition to oppose the project. The massive 500-acre facility will have an impact on the towns of Hillsdale and Taghkanic, as well as the Taconic Hills Central School District and Copake Lake areas. Read more at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.