CALLICOON — Rich Winter aims to have as many commercial solar arrays as the grid will allow in Sullivan County, and he's already got more than a dozen options to lease land.

“Almost everything we build will be two megawatts,” he explains. “We're focused mostly on NYSEG [territory].”

A mortgage trading/advisory company executive and buffalo farmer, Winter is CEO of Xzerta Energy Group, of which Delaware River Solar is a subsidiary.

A solar entrepreneur since 2011, Winter maintains a home in Callicoon and could be found at April's Delaware Planning Board meeting pitching a $5 million, 10-acre array at the end of Baer Road, near Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church off Route 97.

Subject to an interconnection agreement with NYSEG and the necessary site plan approvals from the planning board, Winter plans to offer solar electricity in the area.

“The power we generate is sold to local businesses and residents,” he told board members.

The Callicoon array would be the first of many, he hopes. Contrasting his company with Cypress Creek Renewables (which earlier this year mailed out leasing inquiries to thousands of property owners, and to which he considers his company a competitor), Winter said he's determining how many commercial arrays each NYSEG substation can accommodate before approaching landowners.

Delaware, for example, can handle no more than 200 acres of commercial-grade arrays before the limits of the local electrical grid would be reached, he told officials.

“We've focused all of our energy on site selection,” he states. “... We have a very good feel for what can be done.”

Winter says he's got options with 15 landowners thus far, not solely in the Town of Delaware but in Cochecton, Liberty, Fremont and Bethel.

The Callicoon site is his own property, but he plans to lease the majority of sites, offering per-acre amounts in the four figures on parcels as small as 10-15 acres.

“They need to be relatively flat,” he explains, “with some form of southern exposure.”

Lease terms start at 20 years, with Delaware River Solar paying all construction, clearing and ongoing tax expenses.

“We'll own the system,” he affirms.

Winter, of course, is a businessman and expects to turn a profit, but he's also seeking to take advantage of incentives offered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) pertaining to community solar arrays.

“New regulations in New York now provide utility customers with a cheaper utility option than the current price offered by the local utility,” reads a section of delawareriversolar.com, the company website. “This option known as ‘Community Solar' allows customers to purchase a set amount of solar energy for a fixed term at a price that is less than the local utility. Not only will those who sign up save money on utility bills, they will also reap all the benefits without maintenance fees and upfront costs.”

“Our preference is to keep the power local,” Winter remarks, explaining that NYSEG will continue to deliver the electricity but credit a customer's bill for the amount of power they purchase from one of his solar arrays.

If local demand is insufficient, Winter plans to offer the generated electricity throughout NYSEG's service zone.

When reached last week, Sullivan Alliance for Sustainable Development's Carol Roig and Cornell Cooperative Extension's Melinda Meddaugh indicated they were not deeply familiar with Winter or his plans and thus could not speak specifically about them.

However, Callicoon Center farmer and “green guru” Dick Riseling tells the Democrat he's reviewed Delaware River Solar's general lease terms and believes Winter's efforts to be genuine and will “make a great demonstration ... to deliver locally sited, clean, renewable energy.”

Though Riseling would prefer to see community ownership rather than private ownership of such arrays, he supports Winter's overall goal to have clean energy in the community.

“He's anticipating he's going to spend up to half a billion dollars on renewable energy,” Riseling relates.

Whether that goal is reached depends on how landowners and officials react to Winter's proposal, and the folks at Cornell Cooperative Extension continue to urge prospective lessors to check with their lawyers before entering into any property lease.

In the meantime, Cornell offers a wealth of solar information at sullivancce.org/energy/going-solar-faqs.