William Schneider (middle, near easel) of Bow Energy, tells South Huntingdon officials about the proposed solar power project during a hearing in South Huntingdon on Thursday, as Matt Short of Paddle Energy, the project owner, (left) looks on. (Joe Napsha | TribLive)
A solar power project featuring 12,500 panels on a portion of a South Huntingdon farm off Route 136 got a stamp of approval from township officials Thursday, despite heated opposition from some nearby residents.
South Huntingdon supervisors voted unanimously to approve the plans Bow Renewables of Chicago presented for placing the solar panel array on a section of the 119-acre Marvin Sleith Jr. farm off Thelma Road, which intersects Route 30 near West Newton.
Supervisors Chairman Matthew Jennewine said the township had to approve the land development because the company had met the requirement of the 2024 zoning ordinance governing the construction of solar power farms. Plans for the project had been in the works for a few years and those initial plans were modified to meet the conditions of the ordinance, Jennewine said.
“We did enact it to protect the neighboring properties,” said Supervisor Jeffrey Seglowich of passing the ordinance governing solar power farms.
Opponents during a one-hour hearing on the plans voiced concerns about potential health impacts of solar farm, the site causing a drop in neighboring property values and the placement of a commercial operation in an area abutting residences.
Bruce Lux said his property adjoins the Sleith farm. He doesn’t want a solar farm adjacent to his land.
“I don’t think you would want to open your door and look out at 10,000 panels,” Lux said.
The township, however, can not create a land use zone just for solar power farms because that would be spot zoning, according to township Solicitor Amber Leechalk. To create an area zoned for solar power farms, the township would have to institute zoning throughout the municipality. To deny approval of the plans if the requirements of the ordinance are met, likely would result in the company appealing to Westmoreland County Court, and that a county judge would approve it.
“You live in the wild, wild west,” Leechalk said, referring to the lack of a zoning ordinance in South Huntingdon that would create areas for such a project.
Ann Hoyle, who said she was a cancer survivor, said she was concerned about potential impact on health.
“For this to happen to a very beautiful community, it is very sad,” Hoyle said.
About the solar farm
The commercial solar power project will have two segments, each generating three megawatts of power, that will send electricity to a nearby First Energy transmission line, said William Schneider, engineering director for Bow Energy Consulting.
Paddle Energy Co. of Asheville, N.C., will oversee project construction, provide financing for the multi-million dollar solar power farm and own the facility, said Matt Short, chief commercial officer for Paddle Energy.
The company, which has developed five solar power projects in the state, wants to start construction in August with earth-moving, create the infrastructure for the solar panels in September and October, have First Energy connect the system to the transmission lines and generate power by the end of the year.
The solar power panels, which will be able to rotate from east to west as the sun travels across the sky, will cover a small area of the total 49 acres that will be devoted to project on the 119-acre farm, Schneider said.
Schneider said the solar panels will not be visible to neighboring property owners because it will be down in a section of the farm surrounded by hills. A fence will be constructed around the panels to serve as a site barrier.
When questioned whether the company would expand the solar power farm to additional acreage on the Sleith farm, Short said that the First Energy Co. transmission lines in place can only handle an additional six megawatts of power.
Residents asked repeatedly South Huntingdon residents will gain by having a solar power farm in the community.
Short said it will increase the reliability of the electric transmission grid and take pressure off the utilities, at a time when there is a growing demand for power.
A solar panel farm that generates six megawatts of electricity will be sufficient to provide power to about 756 residences, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group supporting the industry.
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