Derry Township OKs solar farm permit over objections by neighbors

The Derry Township Supervisors on Tuesday approved a permit for a proposed solar farm along Newhouse Road after hearing objections to the project from several neighboring residents.

The supervisors indicated they aren’t any more pleased about the proposed 27-acre solar array than residents are.

But they said they are issuing the permit because the plan for installing 11,000 solar panels meets the requirements of a related township ordinance.

“I’m like you,” Supervisor Don Kepple told solar farm opponents attending the township meeting. “I wouldn’t want this in my backyard. How can you say ‘no’ when everything is done right down the line?

“We feel for all of you, believe me.”

Supervisor Steve Siko said the permit approval is contingent on an agreement between the developer, New York-based CVE North America, the company’s contractor and the supervisors — verifying that the array will be constructed as specified.

CVE also must post a bond equal to 110% of the cost of eventual decommissioning of the array. Siko said the township remains in talks with the developer to determine that cost figure.

Several neighbors on Tuesday and at a Sept. 2 public hearing raised concerns about the array’s potential harmful effects on local water resources and animal life. They also said it would ruin the view in the neighborhood and cause nearby property values to drop.

At the hearing, Carrie Cosentino, project developer for CVE, said the solar panels contain some lead, but the material is encapsulated and should not be released into the environment.

Cosentino cited a 2018 study of 956 solar sites in 23 states indicating there was minimal to no impact on surrounding property values.

On Tuesday, neighboring resident Michele Yacobucci referred to a study led by Virginia Tech that found solar farms can reduce residential property values within 3 miles by nearly 5% while increasing the value of agricultural or vacant land value within a 2-mile radius by about 19%.

Yacobucci urged supervisors to reject the solar farm permit and “insist that any solar development be placed far from homes, preserve views, protect property values and include real input from lifelong residents.”

If the solar farm is developed, she said, it should be subject to “robust setbacks, clear buffer zones, assured environmental mitigation and meaningful compensation or protections for affected neighbors.”

Solicitor Samuel Dalfonso noted the township lacks zoning that would allow it to designate areas where solar farms might be.

As a next best step, the supervisors approved an ordinance in April 2024 that sets some guidelines, including that a solar array must be set back at least 100 feet from a neighboring property line.

“Without zoning, (the township) reached as far as what we can with actually withstanding a legal challenge,” Dalfonso said.

Some residents suggested the supervisors table action on the permit until more information about solar arrays can be reviewed with the public.

Dalfonso said, if the supervisors didn’t take action within 45 days of the September hearing, the permit would be automatically granted.

“There’s nothing that benefits anyone in this community with this (solar farm) plan other than to ruin our views and our land,” said Ashly Miller, who lives next to the site. “Our ordinance needs to be corrected to protect us.”

According to Cosentino, the 4.5-megawatt array should be in operation for about 35 years, generating electricity for sale to local utility First Energy.

CVE representative Andrew Miller, who is no relation to the local property owner, could not say Tuesday what the company’s next step would be in its plan for the solar farm.

“We appreciate (the supervisors’) consideration and thoughtfulness in reviewing our application,” he said after the meeting.

Dalfonso indicated anyone who objects to the permit approval has 30 days to file an appeal in Westmoreland County Court.

Ashly Miller said she’s considering her legal options.

“We’re going to try to appeal it,” she said. “We’re going to look into it and see what we can do. We have the community with us.”