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Utility-grade solar farm planned for Nippenose Township

ANTES FORT — Representatives of Doral LLC came to the Nippenose Township Planning Commission meeting with plans for the large utility-grade solar farm they are seeking to construct in this small community near Jersey Shore.

They had maps of the site where the solar farm will be located. They talked about the acreage to be used, the fencing that will encircle the entire site and the green space that will act as a buffer around the perimeter, which, they noted, is required by ordinance.

But, local residents at the meeting who were most directly affected were more concerned about the construction vehicles that will be driving through this quiet community via Route 44, or the possible glare from the solar panels or if their taxes are going up because of the project.

In the end, the commission’s approval of the project provided that conditions are met received little opposition from those at the meeting.

Goonies Solar — named after the rocks that farmers discard from fields — will be constructed on 1,000 acres of land in the Nippenose Valley. Only 650 acres will be used as the solar field with the remaining acreage acting as a buffer. There are also wetlands on the property that can’t be used.

Around 200 megawatts of power is expected to be generated by the field. The plan is to sell this electricity to the power grid.

Because a good portion of the project is located in the floodway and floodplain of the Susquehanna River, a permit application has been submitted in order to locate the solar farm at that site.

“Basically, when you put something in a floodway or floodplain, it’s called an obstacle and you have to make up for that,” said Todd Stager, associate vice president with Pennoni Associates, a construction engineering firm working on the project.

In order to not raise the water surface elevation, dirt will be removed from the property to compensate for the space which the posts or columns supporting the solar panels occupy in order to not increase the floodwater on the river.

In order to comply with the zoning ordinance, there has to be a landscape buffer to screen the project from public roads and local residents, Stager said. There will also be a fence, either a two-or six-strand cattle fence around the entire property.

“There’s a lot of repetition. A lot of solar panels, a lot of roads, a lot of fences on the property. “We do have to get several permits from the federal, state and county,” Stager said.

Although the project is not required to get a permit from the state’s Department of Transportation, Doral’s representatives said that they are coordinating with PennDOT because of construction vehicles which will be using Route 44.

“We’re kind of coordinating with them on that. Keeping them informed and making sure that we’re doing whatever we need to do,” Stager said.

Community members responded to the presentation by Stager with questions of a less technical nature.

“Being a senior citizen on a fixed income, I’m here because I want to know how it’s going to affect me and my taxes,” one woman asked.

“With this project, we will be placing personal property or equipment on the landowner’s property. We will be paying additional tax monies into the coffers here in the township for having that…so that’s paid by us,” said Kevin Parzyck, senior vice president, project development with Doral.

“We are asking for no infrastructure improvements from the township or the county. There are no monies that have to be paid by any municipalities. Any issues with regard to higher valuations on the property or taxes on the property is between us and the property owner. Anybody ancillary to the project will have no impact. In fact, there will be additional tax monies coming into the area because of the operation,” Parzyck said.

Other questions and concerns fielded by the Doral representatives addressed issues of noise, glare and management of the vegetation in the buffer zone.

Residents were assured that the most noise associated with the project, once construction is completed, would be during the periods when a contracted maintenance company mows and trims the vegetation in the buffer zone.

It was also noted that solar panels do not reflect light, but absorb the rays from the sun so that there is no glare associated with the installation.

Plans are to begin construction within the next year once the various permits are secured and approval is given by the township board of supervisors.

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