Dover Solar Farm project approved after 7 hearings on the matter
The Dover Township Zoning Board has approved a request for a special use exemption for a 600-acre-plus solar farm that would spread east of Route 74 in the area of Canal Road.
This was the first and only vote held on the matter, and the eighth time the board has met about the solar farm, with the seven previous meetings running late into the night. This year, alone, the board has allotted half of its yearly meetings to this one issue.
The zoning board reached a decision in 25 minutes. All board members, except one, voted in favor of the special use exemption. The lone dissenting voice was board member Robert Wright.
In the past, more than 75 community members attended each of the meetings to ask questions and express concerns about property values, noise pollution, health hazards and safety for humans and wildlife, particularly focusing on the glare from the solar panels. This time, however, there were fewer than 50 people in attendance and no one was allowed to make comments before the vote was held.
At the previous meetings, Enel, the developer of the proposed Dover Solar Farm, brought a team of experts to help answer those questions. After months of hearings, Dover Township residents hired an attorney, John Wilson from the CGA Law Firm, to represent their interests.
“Enel Green Power is grateful for the Dover Township Zoning Hearing Board’s vote to approve a special use exception for the Dover Solar Project. We greatly appreciate their careful consideration through the application process," project manager Brittany Staszak said in a prepared statement. "We look forward to a strong, collaborative partnership with the community, as we continue to move through the process of refining plans for the project. We remain committed to engaging with the community and soliciting feedback to develop a project that is considerate of local interests and beneficial to all residents.”
Enel went before the zoning board to request a special use exemption, which would allow agricultural land to be used as a solar field. It is identified as an exemption because solar power is not addressed in standard zoning guidelines.
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Enel worked with the Dover Township board of supervisors to create a solar ordinance, which was adopted in March of 2021. The ordinance limit things like the height of solar panels and how close they can be placed next to a residence. According to project engineers, the project meets or exceeds the outlined provisions.
Enel has long-term rental agreements and easements with 11 landowners to use their property for 30 to 40 years. Company officials said the project would have a capacity of producing around 75 megawatts of solar energy and preventing 80,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
Enel plans to sell the energy generated from the farm to a larger company in a power purchasing agreement. The farm would create $1.7 million in tax revenue and 330 jobs during construction, according to project officials.
The company is developing one other project in York County, the Strinestown Solar Project on 550 acres near Conewago Township, which has received conditional approval and is set to begin operations in 2023.
Enel proposed one other solar farm in Central Pennsylvania, which would have been called Lebanon 1, but the conditional use permit was denied on April 5. That farm would have been in North Annville, but the North Annville supervisors quickly voted against the proposed 858-acre solar installment, citing the township's zoning laws.
The Lebanon vote was made in less than 10 minutes.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Dover Solar Farm approved in 25 minutes
