Reading Anthracite gets first solar farm approved
FILE - A map shows where a proposed solar farm would be located in West Mahanoy Township.
SHENANDOAH HEIGHTS – The first of several solar farms Reading Anthracite and its sister companies are seeking to build in Schuylkill County has received formal approval.
JMB Limited, a sister company to Reading Anthracite, appeared before the West Mahanoy Township Zoning Hearing Board Thursday to seek a variance to construct a solar farm on an 11-acre portion of their property near Morea.
Reading Anthracite has already sought approval for solar farms in Foster Township and Schuylkill Township.
Attorney Gretchen Sterns represented company at the hearing.
The solar farm is proposed for former mining land off South Eleanor Avenue and will be in a clear-cut portion of that property. The site is about 400 feet north of Interstate 81 and panels will face south, Jim Moore, a consulting engineer representing the company, said.
Moore said the property will primarily consist of panels and related equipment, and no buildings, and will be surrounded by a security fence.
He added that the topography of the property, being former mine land, makes redevelopment challenging.
“To grade this for anything else would be very costly,” Moore said. “This is an example of a way to add new value to reclaimed coal mine land.”
Zoning Board Solicitor Robert Matta asked about the noise generated by a solar farm, which Moore said would be akin to a refrigerator if one was standing on property.
Moore said that about 6,000 panels would make up the farm.
The zoning board approved the variance request with conditions that bonding be in place to ensure the farm is properly decommissioned at the end of its lifespan, that a 10-foot tall security fence be installed, and that the fire department receive access to the property.
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