HAWLEY — Sunny days in the Hawley Lake Wallenpaupack region may soon lower homeowners' electrical bills.

ECA Solar plans to offer the power to the community after Wallenpaupack school officials decided it wasn't economically practical for the district.

Massachusetts-based ECA Solar received zoning approval from Palmyra Township in Wayne County in December. The 50-acre, 3.7-milliwatt solar farm is planned on the ridge just west of Hawley Borough— off the PPL transmission line right-of-way road, behind the Lake Region branch of The Dime Bank, off Route 6.

The offer was first made to the Wallenpaupack Area School District, to supply clean energy to operate the district's buildings. The district hired consultants to study if the switch-over to solar would be feasible from a financial standpoint.

A few years ago the school district invested considerably in energy efficiency, powering the heat, ventilation and air conditioning systems with geothermal well technology.

Superintendent Keith Gunuskey reported back to the school board in February that from a financial standpoint the proposal would not be beneficial to the district to make a 20- to 30-year commitment. Gunuskey said Request for Proposals (RFP) could be made. He added that they welcome ECA Solar to the community and are glad the company is here.

Company civil engineer Michael Redding stated that solar energy from their panels could power as many as 600 homes. Todd Fryatt, president of ECA Solar, said that 50- to 60% of customers would need to be residential. Other customers could include commercial businesses.

The option was still available for the school district to tap into it and at least partly convert their electrical service to solar.

Once the project is built, the Community Solar Program must first be introduced to Pennsylvania with the passage of bills now before the House (H.B. 1555) and Senate (S.B. 472).

As it stands now, the solar company is limited to offering its power to consumers within a two-mile radius of the panels.

That would have included in part, the North Campus of Wallenpaupack, and all of Hawley Borough. This two-mile radius, which was described as "extremely limited," was authorized by the Alternate Energy Portfolio Standards Act of 2004. Fryatt will be attending the 8th Annual Pennsylvania Renewables Summit at Camp Hill on March 14, he said, where he is hopeful to gain support for the legislation. New York and Maryland are two states with similar legislation, and Ohio may follow suit.

The Summit draws together industry professionals, energy advocates, legislators and other parties under one roof with the goal of going over issues that are important to the Pennsylvania renewables market.

Passage of the Community Solar Program, Fryatt said, would open their customer marketing base to the entire PPL service area. Fryatt said that the solar farm site is ideal, being right alongside a PPL substation where the energy would flow into the power grid.

Meanwhile, ECA Solar plans to more forward on the Hawley area site, Fryatt said.

Martha Diezemann, Development Manager, said they anticipate a closing on the purchase of the property this summer or early fall. The township will also need a land development plan approved, and permits are required from the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Related: 50-acre solar farm proposed near Hawley

If the legislation passes, Fryatt said, the company will then apply to PPL for approval to connect to PPL's system.

Consumers, he said, would save money on their electrical bills by receiving a solar energy credit. The savings would fluctuate with the availability of sunshine, which is greater in the summer months.

The federal government would allow a 26% tax credit to the solar company, which Fryatt said is one reason the rate payer can save money by switching to solar.

ECA Solar started in 2014. Fryatt said that the majority of their projects are in New England, and they are extremely busy in Delaware. They have developed hundreds of acres of ground-mounted solar, and over 6 million square feet of rooftop solar in seven states.

Deizemann said that they have five to 10 projects in northeastern Pennsylvania in similar stages of development. Some projects rely on the two-mile radius, where it works for the company. The Hawley project, however, is the first ECA Solar project in Wayne or Pike counties. She said once the approvals are in place, the project can be built within a year's time.

The 50-acre site is currently wooded. Of this, 32.54 acres would need to be cleared (62%) where a natural meadow would surround the actual 18.24-acre footprint of the array of solar panels. ECA is planning 412 "tables" or racks held up by posts driven in the ground, which hold 9,878 solar panels angled to the sun, facing south. Each panel is three by six feet bolted to the ground. The three arrays will be about three to four feet off the ground in front and 12 feet high in back.

About 100 feet on the east, west and south sides and about 50 feet on the north, would be left as a "shade management zone" where stumps are left from trees cut. The area is allowed to revegetate and create a habitat buffer. Any plants that grow beyond 10 feet would be trimmed.

The site will be fenced and electronically monitored 24 hours a day, Redding told Palmyra Township officials. For more information visit: www.ecasolar.com.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Super: Commitment to solar would not be financially feasible for WASD