By Connor Hoffman, Lockport Union-Sun & Journal
They come from different backgrounds and hold a wide variety of political beliefs. The one thing they do have in common is a dislike for a plan that they fear could have a negative and long-lasting impact on the fabric of their community.
“We’re regular Joe Shmoes,” said Ed Saleh, one of more than 200 members of the group called Cambria Opposition to Industrial Solar. “We are Independents. We are Democrats. We are Republicans. It doesn’t matter what party line we are. We’re everybody. We’re the forgotten people of New York state.”
Saleh and dozens of his neighbors have banded together in an effort to stop the development of a 900-acre solar project which has been proposed by the company Cypress Creek Renewables.
Cypress Creek Renewables, a company with corporate offices in California and North Carolina, has proposed the Bear Ridge Solar Project, which involves the proposed leasing of 900 acres of private land throughout a 5,000-acre project area in southern Cambria and a portion of northern Pendleton. The developers plan to install solar panels mounted in rows on racking systems up to 12 feet high. The panels would be visible from a distance of about 1-1/2 miles, including from sites on Bear Ridge Road and IDA Park Drive in Lockport.