FORESTBURGH, N.Y. – Utility-scale solar is quickly shaping up as one of the key issues in New York’s gubernatorial race this November.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman took his campaign to the Town of Forestburgh’s town hall Thursday to oppose a proposed large-scale solar facility in Sullivan County.
“We’re gonna talk about the green energy scam. That is [Governor] Kathy Hochul’s scam on all the ratepayers in the state of New York,” said Blakeman, who has served as Nassau County Executive since 2022.
The solar developer RWE submitted its Town Line Solar application to the state’s Office of Renewable Energy and Siting Transmission (ORES) on July 20. If approved by ORES, the project would include a 200-megawatt solar energy and 100-megawatt battery energy storage facility in the towns of Thompson and Forestburgh, spanning more than 1,200 acres.
READ: The Catskills’ Largest Proposed Solar Project Draws Environmental and Ethical Concerns
Communities across New York have pushed back against other solar proposals as the state works towards its goal of reducing emissions to 60 percent of 1990 levels by 2040. (The former mandate of 100 percent zero-emission energy by 2040 was amended in this year’s state budget.)
John Lamontagne, a spokesperson for the developer RWE, said in an email to Radio Catskill that the state’s growing demand for electricity requires practice solutions that can come online quickly and safely.
“The Town Line Solar and Battery Energy Storage project will help meet that need while strengthening local infrastructure, enhancing energy reliability and delivering meaningful benefits to Sullivan County — including tens of millions in new tax revenue over the life of the project to support schools, first responders, and community priorities in Thompson and Forestburgh,” said Lamontagne.
Other Republican lawmakers, including Senator Peter Oberacker and Assemblymember Chris Tague, joined Blakeman in slamming Hochul’s decarbonization goals. Oberacker is running against Representative Josh Riley for New York’s 19th congressional district, while Tague is looking to replace Oberacker in the 51st Senate District this November.
Tague says upstate farmers desperate to lease their land are especially susceptible to developers.
“We continue to take productive farmland out of the circuit for stupid projects like this that do nothing,” said Tague, who represents the 102nd Assembly District, which includes Greene and Schoharie counties.
But some of the Town Line solar project’s property owners aren’t what Tague describes as “struggling farmers.” A good chunk of the proposal site is owned by Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency’s attorney, Walter Garigliano.
Garigliano previously told Radio Catskill that he was approached by RWE and several other solar developers to lease his land. He said he was unable to discuss the lease terms as the lease contains a strict non-disclosure agreement.
Some studies suggest that solar’s threat to the state’s agriculture could be overstated. The Solar Energy Industries Association found that utility solar uses less than 0.1 percent of U.S. prime farmland.
In June, the Trump administration accused New York of violating USDA standards in its solar permitting process. On Thursday, Blakeman criticized ORES – the state agency that reviews large scale solar permits – as “this big-footing of state government.”
“This is the absolute worst of government, when they come into local communities, small communities like this, and because they’re the big state government, they think they can trample over people’s rights,” said Blakeman. “That ends when I become governor. I will end the green energy scam.”
Still, residents are worried about how a large solar project could change the fabric of their neighborhoods. Laura and Frank Jones, Thompson residents who live near Melody Lake along the proposed site, have raised concerns about wildlife displacement, wetland threats, and the depreciation of their home’s property value.
“All kinds of animals are gonna be totally displaced from all of this,” said Jones.”We love living there because of what it is. It’s quiet. We’re on a lake. You see deer with the little baby Bambis running around.”
After RWE’s application is marked complete, ORES has 12 months to approve or deny a siting permit. The public can submit a public comment on the application on New York’s Department of Public Service website.
Image: Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman joined Republican lawmakers and community members outside the Forestburgh town hall in Forestburgh, N.Y. on July 30, 2026 (Photo Credit: Kimberly Izar)