Giant solar farm is 'in the talking stages' for Erie County in Venango Township
WATTSBURG — A massive solar farm is proposed for construction near Wattsburg.
A developer has applied for a conditional-use permit to build a 902-acre, 80-megawatt solar farm on the old Erie County Airport property and neighboring land in Venango Township.
The township will host a public hearing on the proposal on Sept. 20.
"We're going to have everybody in to talk so that we can find out what's going on and how this will work," said Dean Curtis, chairman of the Venango Township Board of Supervisors.
"We're educating ourselves. We've got a lot of homework to do and probably a lot of decisions to make in the next couple months," Curtis said.
Three smaller solar farms are proposed in the region, including a nearly shovel-ready project in Girard Township; a project granted a conditional-use permit for construction in North East Township; and a project in Washington Township, where council will consider a conditional-use permit this month.
The Venango Township plan
The proposed solar farm, known as Wilson Solar, would be located along both sides of Jones Road. It would be roughly bounded by Wattsburg and Hill roads and by Phillipsville and Fritz Hill roads, according to a July 25 conditional-use plan submitted to the township by Wilson Solar LLC, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Birch Creek Development.
The development would include 12 solar arrays, or groupings of solar panels. A substation on the site would direct energy produced into the Penelec electrical grid.
The company has leased or has options to buy 1,136 acres for the project, including the old airport property and farmland, from six landowners, according to the project description and plans. Land not used for the 902-acre development would allow room for fencing and evergreen buffers around the solar arrays.
Trees would have to be cleared from about 155 acres to accommodate the solar farm, according to project plans.
Birch Creek Development did not respond to Erie Times-News inquiries for more information on the proposal.
The proposal is "in the talking stages," Curtis said.
"It's all preliminary at this point and it will be some time before it happens, if it happens," Curtis said. "It's in the talking stages. Nothing is going to start tomorrow. It will be a long process."
The township will share the information it has about the proposal and about the process for project approval during the public hearing, Curtis said.
"We want to make sure the public is aware of everything and to be as transparent as we can. It's why we're having a public hearing," he said.
The public hearing will be held at the Venango Township Building, 9141 Townhall Road, on Sept. 20 at 6 p.m.
Other developments: Girard, North East and Washington townships
In Girard Township, construction could begin this fall on a 20-megawatt solar farm along the north side of Route 20, on the former Divine Word Seminary/Mercyhurst University property.
The only remaining hurdle to construction is a permit for planned perimeter fencing, township zoning administrator Tiffany Kramer said.
"Once they get that permit, they can go ahead and start construction. They've done everything else they need to do," said township Zoning Administrator Tiffany Kramer.
The 210-acre development is by Cypress Creek Renewables, which has corporate offices in California and North Carolina.
In North East Township, a 3-5-megawatt solar farm west of Route 89 and south of Crawford Road earned conditional use approval from township supervisors on Aug. 7.
What do residents say: North East supervisors sign off on CleanChoice Energy solar project
The development by Washington, D.C.-based CleanChoice Energy will encompass about 25 acres of 90 acres leased for the project.
In Washington Township, township council is expected to vote Sept. 19 on a conditional-use application for the construction of a 20-megawatt solar farm.
Solar panels mainly will be located along Kinter Hill and Arneman roads on a 366-acre site also bounded by South Perry Lane and Beason Road, according to project plans.
A two-session public hearing on the conditional-use application for the project by Lightsource bp was held on July 11 and resumed on Aug. 22. The company is a subsidiary of British Petroleum and has offices in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Denver and Austin.
Solar power: How it works
Solar panels absorb energy from sunlight and create electrical charges, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Inverters on solar farms convert the charges from direct current into alternating-current electricity used in the power grid.
In Pennsylvania, an 80-megawatt solar farm can generate enough electricity to power about 10,000 homes for a year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Less than a half-percent of the electricity currently used in Pennsylvania is produced by solar energy, according to SEIA data.
The Pennsylvania Solar Future Plan aims to increase that number to 10% by 2030.
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Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Giant solar farm proposed for construction in Erie County
