In April, the Chautauqua County Legislature entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to begin exploring the possibility of a solar project on 168 acres of undevelopable land at the Chautauqua County airport in Dunkirk.

Three months later, the majority of the Republican legislators have put a stop to that proposal.

During the July legislature meeting, county lawmakers rejected a resolution that would have authorized a public hearing to enter into a solar lease agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

The vote was initially six in favor and 10 opposed, however Legislator Fred Larson, D-Jamestown, requested that his vote be changed from a yes to a no. His request was accepted.

Larson later said according to the legislature’s charter, a legislator who votes against a resolution can bring it back for a vote in the future. It is unknown if he will be doing that or not.

Also voting against the resolution were Republican legislators Tom Harmon of Silver Creek, Travis Heiser of Clymer, Fred Johnson of Westfield, Phil Landy of Jamestown, Terry Niebel of Sheridan, Dan Pavlock of Ellington, John Penhollow of Stockton, Marty Proctor of Mina, Lisa Vanstrom of West Ellicott, and Jamie Gustafson of Lakewood.

Voting in favor were legislators Dalton Anthony, R-Frewsburg, Bob Bankoski, D-Dunkirk, Susan Parker, D-Fredonia, and Chairman Pierre Chagnon, R-Ellery.

Legislators Marcus Buchanan, D-Dunkirk, Tom Nelson, D-Jamestown, and Dave Wilfong, R-Jamestown, were absent.

In April, a representative with NYSERDA’s Build-Ready Program spoke about their goal of developing renewable energy projects on underutilized sites, which are often too risky for private industries. Target sites include landfills, brownfields, former commercial industrial sites, and parking lots. Once the project is feasible, NYSERDA sells it to a private sector operator through some sort of competitive bid.

NYSERDA had targeted the Dunkirk airport for a proposed solar project because it’s owned by the county, but the county has no use for the property, and can’t sell it or develop it.

By placing a solar project there, it would not remove forests or take away farmland.

At the July meeting, the main objections had to do with solar projects in general.

“I just disagree with solar projects that have been so heavily funded by other taxpayers’ dollars and programs that I can’t continue to support them. I wish that we would research other potential energy sources,” Pavlock said.

Johnson agreed. “Solar projects in the most northern, cloudiest part of the country just simply don’t make engineering sense,” he said.

In April, when the Memorandum Of Understanding with NYSERDA was first proposed, Harmon, Heiser, Landy, Niebel, Penhollow and Vanstrom all were in support, but changed their vote to opposing it now.

In addition, Heiser, who is the chairman of the Public Facilities Committee meeting, voted in favor of the resolution authorizing the public hearing in committee but changed his vote at the full meeting a week later.

If a solar project were to be placed there, the county would receive payments equivalent to full market value, as negotiated by the county executive.