Assemblyman Matt Simpson (R,C-Adirondack) and his fellow legislators have sent a formal letter to the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) demanding full transparency and documentation on renewable energy projects that threaten protected wildlife habitats and productive farmland across the state.

The letter highlights ORES’s broad authority to override recommendations from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), local zoning laws and longstanding environmental protections. It specifically seeks lists of projects under review, internal policies for overriding DEC findings and explanations of how indirect impacts from roads, transmission lines and other infrastructure are evaluated.

“Local autonomy and home rule are fundamental to good governance in New York. Yet we are seeing an agency tasked with advancing environmental protection goals authorize the disruption of protected wildlife habitats and the destruction of productive farmland, somehow, in the name of environmental protection,” said Simpson.

“This contradiction erodes public trust and demands greater transparency for our communities. Clean energy progress should not come at the expense of the very resources we are trying to preserve,” Simpson concluded.

Editor's note: Read full letter here.