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The Logan Township supervisors have voted to consider a new package of solar regulations developed in recent months by the township Planning Commission.
Before the vote, the supervisors heard evidence that the Planning Commission's effort has generated development interest, as an attorney from the Harrisburg area made a preliminary request for the township to rezone ground near Coburn that would enable a partnership he represents to construct a modest-size solar farm.
Because they received the commission package only the day before, the supervisors asked solicitor Dan Stants to delay his writing of a draft ordinance until they have time to review the details of the commission proposal, which could eventually become a component of the township's suite of zoning ordinances.
Adopting an amended solar ordinance could take a couple of months and must include two advertisements in the newspaper and a public hearing, which could occur at the same meeting as the ordinance adoption, according to Stants and Planning Director Cassandra Schmick.
Proposed provisions in the package submitted by the Planning Commission would regulate both "principal" arrays created to sell power to the grid and accessory arrays that provide power for on-site use by a family, business or institution.
Principal arrays will need to be situated on at least 10 acres, and they must be in an industrial zone, according to the commission proposal.
Accessory arrays could go in any zone, with maximum generating capacity limited by the utility provider and physical size based on the owner's need -- with preference given to backyard installations, although screened front yard installations would be OK if backyard installation is impractical.
The supervisors will digest the ordinance package slowly, said one supervisor, who complimented the stellar work of the Planning Commission.
"When you give me the go-ahead, I'll (write the draft)," Stants said. "It won't pass until you guys are satisfied."
The partnership that attorney Scott Wyland represents hopes to construct a solar farm of no more than 3 megawatts, which would minimize regulatory obligations under state law, compared to larger than 3-MW farms, Wyland told the supervisors.
It would require about 12 acres and would connect with the PJM grid directly, Wyland said.
It would be a net meter connection, he stated.
That means that excess electricity produced by the system would be compensated with a credit equal to the retail rate, according to Paradise Energy Solutions.
The project would help "satisfy the local load" and it would benefit the overall electrical system, according to Wyland.
Unless the township answers with "a hard no," the partnership plans to formally request extension of an industrial zone "slightly" into what is currently zoned agricultural, according to Wyland.
The ground targeted is between a power line and a rail line, and the proposed array wouldn't be visible from any public road, Wyland said.
The supervisors might want to consider a couple adjustments to the package presented by the commission, according to Wyland.
It would make sense to reduce the size of initial bonds required to ensure that the township isn't stuck with decommissioning costs from the proposed minimum of $500,000, Wyland said.
Given that more than
80 percent of materials used in arrays are recyclable, and that once materials are removed, there's not much to distinguish the property from what it had been before construction, that minimum is "orders of magnitude" larger than necessary, according to Wyland.
It might also make sense to use a 3-MW cutoff as the delineation point between small and large arrays, according to Wyland, referring to the 50-kilowatt maximum that is part of the package's definition for accessory systems.
"We'll gather it all in and consider it," supervisors Chairman Jim Patterson told Wyland.
Rezoning in Logan requires notifications to nearby property owners, analysis and a recommendation from the Planning Commission, consideration by the supervisors and a public hearing, before the supervisors adopt a change.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.