As PA Tries to Push Renewable Energy, a Proposed Solar Farm in Wayne County Draws Mixed Reactions

DAMASCUS, PA – Along Eighmy Road in Damascus, sprawling fields of yellow wildflowers stretch across the rolling countryside.

Tim Dennis has owned a butcher shop on Calkins Road just off Eighmy Road for the last fifteen years. He says he loves the neighbors who make the area feel like home, including a nearby beef farm and a local creamery.

But Dennis says the fabric of his community could change after a solar developer has proposed an 18 megawatt photovoltaic solar energy facility down the road from his shop. The project would border Oregon and Damascus Townships in Wayne County.

The project, WA-Cochecton 2 LLC by Ampliform, said in its conditional use application that the utility-scale solar facility could generate enough electricity to power roughly 3,000 homes annually – but Dennis argues a project of this size doesn’t belong in rural areas.

“This type of stuff is not meant to be rural residential. These are farmland fields that have been hayed forever and farmed forever, and are still being farmed, but that will no longer happen,” said Dennis.

The project encompasses about 257 acres and would disturb 103 acres. The proposal includes constructing 36,126 solar panels according to the developer’s application documents. Each panel measures about 8 feet by 4 feet and would be mounted on all-terrain structures that follow the sun through the day.

At a Damascus Township conditional use hearing on May 20, residents packed the township’s municipal building while others waited outside due to building capacity constraints.

Bill Shaughnessy, a homeowner on Eighmy Road whose property would be affected by the project, strongly opposed the plans at the hearing.

His grandparents started coming up to northeast Pennsylvania in the 1940s. By 1971, they bought their first home in Wayne County full-time.

Shaughnessy says he remembers spending weekends in the summertime exploring fields and streams surrounded by wildlife. “I couldn’t wait to go up to my nan and pop’s place and stay there for the weekend and just run around those woods. I know those woods like the back of my hand because I literally grew up in them,” said Shaughnessy.

Now, the proposal heads to the township’s board of supervisors to approve or deny a conditional use for the project.

Ed Lagarenne, Zoning Officer for Damascus Township, said supervisors have 45 days since the May 20 conditional use hearing to decide if they will approve or deny a conditional use for the project.

The next step would be a land development plan, says Lagarenne, which would require local and state permits and review procedures to ensure the project minimizes issues with wildlife, vegetation, and the water systems.

Wayne County isn’t alone in this fight. Similar debates around constructing utility-scale solar projects are playing out in communities across the country, as states like Vermont and Wisconsin try to balance responsible development and their clean energy goals.

But where Pennsylvania decides to build has drawn mixed reactions from local communities.

Developers said in its application that the area was selected as “the optimum location” due to its proximity to the PPL 69KV transmission line. Radio Catskill reached out to the developer Ampliform for comment but did not hear back ahead of publication.

Solar brings mixed concerns

Barbara Arrindell, Director of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, an environmental advocacy nonprofit in northeast Pennsylvania, said that while large-scale solar projects aren’t perfect, they’re necessary as electricity costs skyrocket.

“If the supply doesn’t increase, two things will happen: the prices will go up, and the grids will become unstable. We need additional supply, and that can be provided by either renewable[s], which are the most cost-effective way to generate electricity, or fossil fuels,” said Arrindell.

“Fossil fuels cause global warming, environmental destruction, geopolitical instability, and more and more – and renewables, while they’re not perfect, [they are] by far way better to generate electricity, and so better is better.”

Solar projects still have their limitations if they aren’t regulated properly, says Arrindell.

“You can have damage from clear cutting, from herbicide use to prevent plants from growing underneath it. You can have runoff problems and so forth,” said Arrindell.

The project is expected to cost $32.639 million and would require homeowners to chip in by leasing a portion of their land to developers. So far, Shaughnessy said most homeowners in the area have rejected the lease offer, with only two households across the two townships participating.

A major issue residents have is the amount of tree clearance the project would require.

Damascus Township’s zoning ordinance limits tree and woodland clearing to 25 percent. However, some residents allege that the project’s clearance is far more than what’s allowed and developers combined acreage from both townships to meet the requirement.

“[Eagles] roost in the trees where they’re gonna be cutting for these solar panels. I have a big problem with that. Trying to be responsible to the environment by cutting down all of the trees and putting this thing where they’re putting it is not being responsible to the environment. It’s the complete opposite effect,” said Shaughnessy.

The proposed project area also sits on 11 wetlands on about 43 acres, according to application documents.

Rural organizing associate Sarah Dunn of Solar United Neighbors says she often sees rural Pennsylvanians pushing back against some solar array projects – partly due to misinformation and negative ramifications of extractive energy on their communities and health.

“When any kind of new energy development is coming, I can understand a certain level of cynicism and questioning,” said Dunn. But she urges that solar energy works for the state for many reasons.

“Solar works for our farmers, which is front and center in rural communities. It allows farmers to keep their land in their families, especially when there are financial hardships. We are finding that it allows them to pass it down to the next generation,” said Dunn. “We are finding that it allows farmers to diversify their agricultural portfolio.. we found that agriculture and solar can work together.”

Proposed solar project map that borders Oregon and Damascus townships in northeast Pennsylvania (Photo Credit: Kimberly Izar)

Pennsylvania’s push for renewables

Pennsylvania has long relied on fossil fuels to power its energy through coal and oil and is the third largest energy supplier to other states in the country.

But its reliance on fossil fields wasn’t always the case. The state was once considered a leader in renewable energy after it enacted the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard Act of 2004, which required a percentage of the electricity it sells to come from alternative resources.

Then the state fell way behind, says Sharon Pillar, founder and executive director of the Pennsylvania Solar Center. “Now we’re really the worst state in the whole eastern corridor as far as per capita amount of solar,” said Pillar.

Part of the slow rollout towards renewable energy has been a political problem. A long history of fossil fuel production continues to shape the state’s mindset, she says, along with billions of dollars in lobbying efforts backed by oil and gas companies.

“There’s a lot of money behind these fossil fuel companies, and they don’t wanna give up their share or have anything jeopardize it,” said Pillar. “Even while the rest of the world sees [solar] as the cheapest, fastest way to build new energy, we still have legislators hanging onto our dinosaur fuels.”

Pillar says she’s seen more openness towards renewable energy across party lines over the years. More state lawmakers have pushed for clean energy bills like the Energy Bills Relief Act, a bill to expand access to renewable energy. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro also pledged during his gubernatorial campaign run to increase the share of the state’s energy sold from renewable sources to 30 percent by 2030.

While some residents argue that utility-scale solar projects should prioritize going on rooftops and warehouses, rather than valuable farmland and wildlife habitat, Dunn at Solar United Neighbors says that isn’t enough.

“At this point, we need more power on the grid than just what our rooftops can allow,” said Dunn. “Unfortunately with a lack of incentives right now to go solar, it’s making it more and more difficult for individual households to go solar at this time.”

Most residents and energy experts agree that renewable energy will likely become an increasingly common part of daily life in Pennsylvania. The bigger debate remains where those projects belong and what communities may lose in the process.

“Solar farms are gonna be popping up a lot, and I think we do have to be responsible when these things are planned out and where they go,” said Shaughnessy. “Not just because it’s close to a power line [or] there’s a lot of acreage. They really need to look at a lot of other things there, too.”

Image: Fields along Eighmy Road in Wayne County, Pennsylvania (Photo Credit: Kimberly Izar)