Erie County is close to leasing land at ECC South for working solar panels. Montante Solar would build the solar farm and then sell the electricity to the county. The plan, however, arrives with several unanswered questions.
While the operation could potentially save the county a lot of money, it's legally complicated.
IBEW Local 41 brought some of those concerns to light during a public hearing at the Erie County Legislature. Greg Inglut, an executive board member at the local, asked if workers on the project would receive prevailing wages and if the contractors had to have worker training programs. According to Inglut, the state Department of Labor has indicated projects of this type would require such considerations.
"Power purchase agreements between entities do indeed fall into prevailing wage law. So, I'd like to make sure this project falls into prevailing wage law," Inglut told the hearing.
He was the only speaker in attendance.
"I think this is big deal and I think this is the wave of the future," said Legislator Howard Johnson, who wants specialized training programs made available to his constituents. "I think it's something we all should be looking at."
The solar farm is slated to be discussed this afternoon at the Legislature Energy and Environment Committee.
