JUST IN: New York votes to replace the term “mother” with “gestating parent” in parts of state law.

I spoke to a Fire Chief last week who told me that his fire department hasn't received one cent from a local solar complex that promised the community all sorts of "benefits" like money and jobs in the region. As those of you following on here with me know, even ORES (Office of Renewable Energy Siting) has to admit in the project dockets that 100MW solar projects only create 2.5 full-time jobs. But what about the tax revenue? When I started combing through the Fort Edward Solar docket, I noticed documents related to taxes were redacted. That told me one thing: something nefarious is at play with tax breaks given to solar and wind corporations. Boy, I had no idea just how crooked this all was. The Fire Chief told me their department does not receive one cent from this solar complex. How could this be? Large solar projects in New York operate under a PILOT agreement (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes), usually negotiated through the Industrial Development Agency (IDA). The developer does not pay standard property taxes. Instead, they make scheduled payments over time. Developers push for PILOTs because they pay much less than they would paying with outright property taxes. Additionally, many PILOT agreements include grace periods. Payments may begin after construction is complete... and some agreements ramp up slowly over years. And, even without a PILOT, many solar projects still don’t pay full taxes because of a major state policy: New York Real Property Tax Law Section 487. This law gives solar projects a 15-year property tax exemption. In the case of this town, the PILOT cut out the fire department from receiving tax revenue from the hundreds of acres of land that are now locked into a solar industrial complex. That land was previously paying property taxes, a portion of which went to the fire department. This is all part of the state's plan to centralize power at the top, taking it away from towns, villages, fire departments, small businesses, farms, and the environment. What was promised as something that would bring "jobs and revenue" turned into something that destroyed local tourism, lowered surrounding property values, and cut out the fire department from PILOT revenue. These foreign solar corporations are lying at our doorsteps and to our media, and New York State is letting them. I refuse to accept this kind of treatment from foreign renewable corporations, which is why I am raising money to sue. We need the federal government in NY immediately.