Wayne County solar farms: Permit pending near Lake Ariel, hearing set in Cherry Ridge Twp.
Sunshine is increasingly becoming a desirable commercial commodity in Wayne County, with solar farm applications increasing. A state permit is pending for a 19-acre solar farm near Lake Ariel. A hearing is set in April for another one in Cherry Ridge Township.
A large-scale commercial solar array project in Damascus and Lebanon townships was approved in 2023 by both boards of supervisors, but is yet to start construction.
Salem Township
The Wayne County commissioners received correspondence March 21 from ARM Group LLC notifying them of the intent of Twilight Renewable to file for a state permit in advance of the applicant's Lake Ariel Solar Farm Project. Twilight is planning a 4.4-megawatt (MW) AC solar farm, using 19 acres.
A 5-MW system can potentially power as many as a thousand homes.
The property extends on either side of Route 191, Lake Ariel Highway, between the villages of Lake Ariel and Hamlin, within Salem Township and just south of Advent Road. The western edge of the property fronts Route 196. Google Maps' satellite view shows the parcels to be largely wooded.
ARM Group LLC is the engineering firm for Twilight Renewables. Jared Hockenbury, professional engineer for ARM Group, said that Twilight intends to apply for the Individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, authorizing the discharge of stormwater during construction activities. The permit application goes to the Wayne Conservation District, which administers Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection regulations.
Brett Nolt, CEO of Twilight Renewables, is the applicant. The firm is based in Manheim, Lancaster County. According to its website, the company sells, designs, installs and helps to maintain solar panel systems for Pennsylvania clients.
Wayne County Planning/GIS Department records list Brett M. Nolt, of Lititz, as the owner. The deed for the 33.68-acre property was filed last December.
Salem Township enacted an ordinance governing large-scale solar farm electric utilities at the Feb. 13 supervisors' meeting. The listed purposes are to adopt “reasonable building, operational, and decommissioning requirements” of all large-scale solar electric facilities, and to establish safety standards, all of which are intended to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of Salem Township residents, and property owners within the township.
Applicants must receive a township permit and conform with the township Subdivision Land Development Ordinance. Among the regulations, there is a prohibition on artificial lighting except that required for safety and other authorities. A fence is required at least seven feet high, or other barriers. A vegetative buffer might be required. On-site transmission and power lines, where practical, must be underground.
Jennifer Wargo, Salen Township secretary, said that they were waiting for the land development plan from Twilight Renewables. No hearing is necessary, she said, unless they request a waiver to their solar ordinance.
She said there was a previous submittal from another company to erect a utility-scale solar farm in western Salem Township. The supervisors denied the request for lack of a subdivision plan. Wargo said the firm can always try again.
Cherry Ridge Township
A conditional use hearing has been announced in Cherry Ridge Township for a 30-acre solar farm on a section of land along Cadjaw Pond Road. Township officials scheduled the hearing for Tuesday, April 16, at 7 p.m., at the municipal building on Route 191.
This request was filed by Ridgetop Angus Farm LLC, owner, and Honesdale Energy Initiative LLC, applicant/developer. The site is located west of Cadjaw Pond Road and northwest of Millers Farm Lane, totaling 39 acres. Approximately 11 acres are dedicated to the proposed solar facility. The overall property is partly field, partly wooded.
Damascus/Lebanon townships
A five-MW commercial solar farm was approved in February 2023 by Damascus and Lebanon townships on a privately owned field off Route 371. Most of the project is in Damascus Township.
New Leaf Energy, a division of Borrego Solar Systems, Inc., Lowell, Massachusetts, is planning to build an array of 11,040 solar panels. The long rows of panels will be tilted at approximately 60 degrees. They begin approximately 700 feet from the roadway and will cover about 21 acres.
Over a year since obtaining township approval, New Leaf Energy's project has not yet broken ground. Damascus Township Secretary Melissa Haviland said that an interconnective agreement is still pending to tap into PPL's electrical grid.
More from Damascus Twp.: Damascus School students become township supervisors for a day, run meeting
Damascus supervisors set a moratorium in 2023 on new solar farms until they were able to upgrade their ordinance. Haviland stated that the supervisors extended that moratorium at their March meeting.
Their proposed amendment to the zoning ordinance is the subject of a public hearing set for April 22 at 6 p.m., prior to the 7 p.m. Damascus supervisors' regular meeting. Haviland said that there are other solar farm companies waiting to apply.
Townships ordinances
The Wayne County commissioners, working with Penn State Extension, organized an online seminar in September for municipal officials to learn about amendments they may need to strengthen their ability to regulate commercial solar farms. A second webinar was held in November to educate landowners who may be approached by companies wanting to lease land for commercial solar arrays.
As reported in the Wayne County Planning Commission Annual Report for 2023, adopted by the commissioners this March, many municipalities have been adopting solar energy regulations in the past two years or so, a trend that was expected to continue.
Solar Energy Industries Association has a map showing locations of large-scale solar arrays. It shows none in the Poconos, save for the 2.7-MW Pocono Solar Project at Pocono Raceway. An 80-MW project, Swiftwater Solar, is being developed in Pocono Township.
The Wayne County Planning Commission last year reviewed a proposed zoning amendment regarding solar farms for Damascus Township and amendments to the subdivision and land development (SALDO) ordinances for Preston, Mount Pleasant and Lake townships. The latter three municipalities are not zoned. Preston Township passed its SALDO amendment on Aug. 6, 2023, Mount Pleasant Township on Dec. 4, and Lake Township on Feb. 6.
ECA Solar was given zoning approval by Palmyra Township in December 2021 for a 50-acre, 3.7-MW project, but later backed out when their desired consumer, Wallenpaupack Area School District, decided not to pursue an agreement.
For more information from Penn State Extension about leasing property for commercial solar farms, see extension.psu.edu/landowner-leasing-for-utility-scale-solar-farms.
View the map showing large-scale solar farms identified by Solar Energy Industries Association at seia.org/research-resources/major-solar-projects-list.
Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.
This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Developers pursuing solar farms in Salem, Cherry Ridge townships
