Chautauqua County’s Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board is expressing its support for a proposed solar project in the town of Dunkirk, because it won’t impact farmland.

The Farmland Protection Board was asked for its input about a solar project proposed near the county fairgrounds at 10651 Brigham Road. It is proposed to go on an abandoned vineyard. Their opinion was shared at the recent County Planning Board meeting.

“The AFPB supports renewable energy projects like wind and solar, provided these projects are not impacting productive agricultural lands. Siting these projects in alternative locations including brownfields, landfills, and abandoned agricultural lands can make these sites productive again,” wrote Daniel Steward, chairman of the Farmland Protection Board. “If carried out, the proposed project will not result in the conversion of any actively farmed land. The proposed project will be utilizing abandoned vineyards and brush land. It appears the site is not currently being used for agricultural production and has not been in recent years. This site is classified as prime farmland and has the capacity to be farmed. This site was farmed in the past and has the potential to be farmed in the future. The Board finds that the project siting would result in minor impacts to farmland in the county due to the quality of soils.”

Lauren Sharp with the county Planning Department said this proposed solar project is quite small – less than a single megawatt – on 5.18 acres of land.

The property borders wetlands, so it can’t be enlarged and it also sits near transmission lines.

Sharp said farmland this size can be difficult for modern-day farmers because new equipment can be too large to fit in that area. “An Amish farm could easily use it. A small vegetable farm could easily use it. But somebody who is doing large row crop production – soybeans, corn, grapes – their equipment is just not fitting into these smaller fields that are cut out around wetlands and other infrastructure,” she said.

Even though the Farmland Protection Board has expressed support for solar projects on vacant unused land that can’t be farmed, the Chautauqua County Legislature isn’t necessarily on the same page.

Last month, 10 of the 19 county legislators, all Republican, rejected a proposal by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority after it proposed exploring a solar project on 168 acres of undevelopable property near the Dunkirk airport.