13-03-2025
New solar farm proposed for Walworth, nearby residents express concerns
WALWORTH, N.Y. (WROC) – In the town of Walworth, Rochester-based solar farm company Norbut has proposed the installation of a new solar farm. As town leaders continue their consideration of this project, many neighbors of the prospective site are against the idea.
The solar farm would be situated in a currently vacant plot of farmland between Kuttruff Road and Atlantic Avenue, between Canandaigua and West Walworth Roads. Currently, the open field has electrical towers placed through it.
Walworth Town Supervisor Mike Donalty explained that because their town is considered rural, he and many other town officials were anticipating a proposal like this one for a while now.
'There's a lot of vacant farmland, so it just makes sense that if a company wants to develop solar, they're going to come here,' Donalty said. 'They're not going to build it in more urban areas like the city of Rochester because there's no place for them to build it.'
However, some folks who live nearby believe there are better places to install the solar farm. They value what they described as a vast ecosystem with an abundance of wildlife, which neighbor's wetlands recognized and monitored by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
'A solar farm in this community would change the landscape,' 32-year Walworth resident Ginger said. 'The people of this community live here for the open fields, the farmlands and the space.'
Tom Ninestine lives right up the road from the proposed site and has these same concerns.
'I'm just worried about the impact of the wildlife, the wetlands and the aesthetic view,' Ninestine said. 'It would be a real eyesore.'
Donalty explained how, if approved, the solar farm could generate substantially more tax revenue for the town, as opposed to if the farmland remained vacant.
'Farmland is taxed at a much lower rate than developed land, so we made sure that when we revised our local solar law last year that we made provisions for these farms to be taxed at the full assessed evaluation of the land and the installation upon it,' Donalty said.
For residents with a similar perspective as Ginger and Tom, the additional tax revenue isn't worth losing the open space.
'I probably won't be able to walk my dog past this area if construction is going on and if there's a lot of trucks. I'll probably have to go someplace else,' Ginger said.
This prospective solar farm is currently only a proposal. Norbut presented the concept to Walworth's Planning Board and, if approved, would need to be approved again by the Walworth Town Board.
News 8 reached out to Norbut Solar Farms for comment on their plans for the Walworth solar farm and are waiting to hear back.
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