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The Wyoming County Planning Commission on Wednesday granted conditional approval to land development plans for two solar panel projects proposed by Tunkhannock Area School District.
That means land development plans for all three of the district’s planned solar projects have gained conditional approval. However, the status and potential future of the district’s solar initiative — which was announced in 2024 as a potential way to save millions of dollars on electricity costs — remains unclear.
The district plans to place solar panels at three sites: The district high school in Tunkhannock Twp.; the elementary center at the border of Tunkhannock Twp. and Tunkhannock borough; and the district’s campus in Mehoopany Twp.
The planning commission gave conditional approval to the land plan for the elementary school project in July 2025.
The commission rejected the original land plans for the high school and Mehoopany Twp. sites, because of the discovery of sewer line no-build easements at the high school site and concerns over emergency vehicle access at the Mehoopany Twp. site.
Project engineers submitted revised land development plans for both projects earlier this year. At February’s planning commission meeting, county Planning Director Matthew Jones said the revised plan for the Mehoopany Twp. campus appeared to be “much improved.”
On Wednesday, the commission unanimously approved plans for both the high school and Mehoopany Twp. sites, but attached several conditions to each approval.
Conditions for both projects include approval of an erosion prevention plan by the county conservation district. Also, a note must be added to each plan, acknowledging that evergreen buffer trees will be at least 6 feet tall at the time of planting.
Also, plans for the Mehoopany Twp. site must be mailed to the FWM Volunteer Fire Co. and the county emergency management agency, so they can familiarize themselves with the location of the new fire access lane.
However, it is not clear whether the school district will proceed with its solar initiative. The uncertainty began last June, when the district school board voted to pause any action on the solar projects after the planning commission rejected the original land plan for the high school site.
The school board voted to restart work on the solar projects in September.
At the January school board meeting, district Superintendent Paul Dougherty said he could not recommend the direct purchase option for the project, which had been estimated at about $10 million. He said he was concerned the district might not receive $4.5 million in federal solar tax credits, even if it qualified for the credits.
At the Feb. 18 school board meeting, Dougherty said district officials will likely decide plans for the solar initiative in the next month or two.
At Thursday’s school board meeting, Dougherty said “there is potential” for the solar project to be brought before the board at its April 16 meeting, after receiving information from Penelec.
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