A proposed 27-acre Kings Park solar farm on Long Island cleared a major procedural hurdle last week.
The Smithtown Town Board voted 4-0 against requiring BQ Energy to submit an environmental impact statement for the proposed project on an old solid waste landfill.
Russell K. Barnett, the environmental protection director for Smithtown, says the proposed area has little vegetation and wildlife that would be affected by the project.
“Some of the proposals further east from us were the subject of some controversy because the proposals involved denuding the land of mature trees in order to put in solar panels. This project here in the town of Smithtown is different,” Barnett says.
A similar solar farm project in Shoreham is the subject of controversy because the plan requires trees to be cut down to make room for the farm.
