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Updated: September 27, 2026 @ 12:45 pm
A crowd listens to a presentation about GreenKey Development’s proposed solar project slated for Fairfield Township.
Supervisors Ernie Henderson and Jim Brown, Secretary Carrie Tantlinger, Solicitor Amber Leechalk and Supervisor Paul Altimus meet for a public hearing for GreenKey Development’s upcoming solar farm Tuesday evening.
GreenKey Development’s lawyer Pete Zittel gives a presentation about a slated solar project for Fairfield Township Tuesday night.
A crowd listens to a presentation about GreenKey Development’s proposed solar project slated for Fairfield Township.
Supervisors Ernie Henderson and Jim Brown, Secretary Carrie Tantlinger, Solicitor Amber Leechalk and Supervisor Paul Altimus meet for a public hearing for GreenKey Development’s upcoming solar farm Tuesday evening.
GreenKey Development’s lawyer Pete Zittel gives a presentation about a slated solar project for Fairfield Township Tuesday night.
Whether powered by coal, gas or solar, energy companies have proposed a plethora of projects in Westmoreland County, and rural Fairfield Township is no exception.
The township supervisors held a Tuesday public hearing with GreenKey Development LLC to garner resident opinions on a proposed 59-acre solar farm. GreenKey Development plans to purchase a 112.7-acre property for the facility from owner Bertha V. Martin. It’s located at Fort Palmer Road and state Route 711.
Solicitor Amber Leechalk said the project still needs approvals and permits, such as one from the Westmoreland County Conservation District. On top of that, a final plan still needs to be formalized before it can be approved, she said.
The project will not cross the supervisors’ desk for a vote until all the approvals and permits are obtained.
Leechalk said the most likely next step will be an executive session for the board to discuss the solar farm.
Real estate exemptions under the Sunshine Act only apply to properties a municipal government itself is leasing or purchasing.
Leechalk did not respond to a Wednesday voicemail asking for an explanation of why the solar farm would be discussed in a closed-door meeting.
The project, named Bertha Solar, will consist of four quadrants of panels. The nearest residential property would be over 300 feet away from the facility.
“Back in 2024, the board of supervisors passed an ordinance, setting rules and regulations for such developments … Now, it’s being tested,” Supervisor Paul Altimus said at the beginning of the two-hour meeting.
GreenKey’s lawyer, Pete Zittel of Pittsburgh-based law firm Babst Calland, said he believes the project aligns with the ordinance. He emceed a presentation to the supervisors and crowd.
The project will include permanently tilted panels that will generate electricity for the grid. The area is buffered by trees, GreenKey’s Pennsylvania Permitting Coordinator Tracy Tackett said.
She also mentioned that it will cost $20 million to build.
The highest point of the panels will be 9 feet off the ground, Civil Engineering Manager Jackson Nickel said. The facility will be surrounded by a fence with wildlife cameras to protect it from vandalism.
The company also developed an emergency management plan it will share with area agencies if the project is approved.
The most workers on-site at a time would be 50 people during construction, Zittel said.
Tackett outlined a decommissioning plan and said GreenKey will pay for it. They would remove all the panels, concrete and gravel, she said. She mentioned that part of the reason solar companies make these plans is to soothe the “bad taste in everyone’s mouths” from oil and gas companies.
“Everything will be restored,” she added.
Tackett also talked about how GreenKey will plant native grass. On other sites, the company has allowed sheep to graze, she said. She said they will consider partnering with local farmers in Fairfield Township if there is interest.
Next, Nickel went over the equipment, which will involve transformers and inverters. The inverters will make the most sound on-site, hovering around 65 decibels up close. This would be similar to the volume of an air conditioner, he said.
Within 120 feet of the inverters, the sound sits at less than 45 decibels, which is about the volume of a running refrigerator.
Nickel said the six-month construction process is set to take place while animals are hibernating so as not to disturb them.
He said developers performed a glare analysis and learned the panels will have similar reflectivity to a pond and that an anti-reflective coating will be added.
GreenKey’s presentation also included copies of an approval letter signed by the county commissioners.
GreenKey previously proposed a solar farm in Unity Township on Charles Houck Road, but the project was rejected by the Zoning Hearing Board.
Nickel said the Fairfield Township project is the first Westmoreland County project to make it to this point.
Tackett said other GreenKey solar sites have gone up in Crawford and Bradford counties.
Residents question solar farm’s impact
Though the meeting didn’t start until 5 p.m. Tuesday, doors opened at 4 p.m. as board Secretary Carrie Tantlinger said Monday she was expecting a larger audience.
About 22 people crowded the meeting hall before the presentation began and chatted with developers. The meeting grew slightly heated between residents and the developers but simmered down by the end.
Residents expressed concern over the environmental impact of the site, noise levels, safety, traffic and aesthetics.
Tackett said she is happy to perform a noise study and will work with the township on managing traffic if necessary, and repair the road after any wear and tear.
Russel Davies, a longtime resident, questioned the purpose of solar farms in general.
“I could call them ‘ugly,’ but I don’t want to go there,” Davies said. “So the life of the project is at least 25 years … how many years into that will you counteract what environmental disasters you’ve created by putting it in?”
Tackett said no environmental disasters will be created. When asked specifically about cancer-causing agents, she said there is a type of metal some solar panels use that can contribute to the development of cancer. However, GreenKey will not be using any of those panels, she said.
“We don’t use any toxic chemicals,” she said.
Sherry Mitchell, who inherited a neighboring property along with her three siblings, suggested GreenKey post the entire presentation online for the public to view.
Tackett agreed, though she initially thought the township did not have a website. Zittel said he would jot down a list of emails where he would share the presentation as well.
Mitchell was mainly concerned about how a solar farm will look from the perspective of her property, which she said she was planning to turn into an agriculture tourism site.
Tackett said the company could likely work with Mitchell to integrate the solar farm as part of the tourism experience.
GreenKey anticipates residents will have some opposition to solar farms, which is why they welcome public feedback, Nickel told the Bulletin after the meeting.
“It’s pretty typical … a lot of it’s just questions,” he said. “A lot of it’s just things [people] have seen online.”
The supervisors are set to meet again publicly on July 9 at 3 p.m. in the township building at 159 Midget Camp Road.
Annabelle Chipps can be reached at achipps@latrobebulletinnews.com.
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