Natasha Vaughn is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Columbia County Board of Supervisors has unanimously taken a position against the proposed Shepherd's Run solar project in Copake. The board adopted a resolution stating that county officials are opposed to the construction of a 360-acre, 60-megawatt installation on agricultural land in the hamlet of Craryville. Hecate [HEK-uh-tee] Energy, the developer behind the proposed project announced last month it would be moving the project forward using a new citing process called 94-C. “I am very grateful for the Board of Supervisors’ support of Copake and their strong opposition to both the project as currently envisioned and the violation of Home Rule which recent legislation represents,” Copake Town Supervisor Jeanne Mettler said in a statement. The board cited the loss of prime farmland and natural resources, displacement of native and endangered wildlife and birds, degradation of rural viewsheds and a major thoroughfare to the Taconic State Park, Catamount Mountain Resort, the hamlets of Hillsdale, Copake and neighboring Berkshires, as the rationale behind its decision. Darin Johnson of the advocacy group Sensible Solar for Rural New York thanked the board for its vote. "There must be [a] reasonable and real balance between our state’s fight against climate change and respecting the zoning laws, natural resources...and agriculture-centric economies of rural New York,” he said. Hecate Energy Project Developer Alex Campbell said he hopes the company and the town can find a middle ground solution that works for all concerned. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.