Text · page 9 of 13
Town of Hamburg Planning Board Minutes March 18, 2026 Mr. Van Slyke explained that they try to find a site that is relatively easy to put a project on, and this site meets the criteria. Member Ryan asked what the noise level for the fans and transformers is when they are at their heaviest intake load. From what she has read, the buzzing can be quite loud which makes it a concern for her. Mr. Van Slyke responded that the packets that were presented do include equipment specs and for example, the string inverters have a peak noise of 68 DB at one meter (three feet), and 68 DB is about equivalent to crowded restaurants and the sound dissipates logarithmically. With the distance to the homes the sound is ideally negligible because of the distance and the dissipation through the foliage/trees and fencing. They are confident that there should be no real sound. Member Ryan also asked when the panels drop out of their peak efficiency, how does the Applicant dispose of the panels and when do they decide to change them out before any erosion starts that could contaminate the ground. Mr. Van Slyke answered that the solar panels contain four things: glass, aluminum, silicon and some solder material. They are sealed components and are designed to last the lifetime of the site so 40 years. They are designed to take on UV energy and as such will withstand it. There will be periodic maintenance around the site as well as site maintenance inspections where if there are any that are damaged, they will be replaced. As for the sealed unit, that is part of the decommissioning plan. When the units are decommissioned, it includes recycling the panels, reusing the panels, and reconditioning. Chair Gronachan explained that in the packet it states that the Applicant will be carrying $10 million of insurance and asked if they would be interested in carrying insurance for the residents if there was any type of damage to their wells or septic or any kind of water source. She acknowledged that there may not be an answer to this right now, but it is something she would like the company to think about. She feels that the landscaping plan is not enough. It is not tall enough, it’s not thick enough, and she would like it so that no one sees the solar panels from the road or especially the neighborhood. Chair Gronachan asked if there was any underground storage and what about battery safety. Mr. Van Slyke answered that there is no underground storage and there are no batteries on this project. Chair Gronachan asked who oversees the planting. 9