Zoners hear more testimony on proposed Ashland Metals solar farm; more set next month
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - The former site of Ashland Metals on Germanville Road in Butler Township, seen on Jan. 30, 2024.
FOUNTAIN SPRINGS – It will take at least another month before residents in part of Butler Township know if a solar farm will get zoning approval to be built at the former Ashland Metals site.
About two dozen people packed the Butler Township Municipal Building Wednesday night for the second part of a zoning hearing for a solar farm proposed off Germanville Road.
U.S. Light Energy of Latham, NY, proposed the farm on the former site of Ashland Metals, which is now owned by the Wytovich family. That site was operated as a battery recycling facility decades ago and was heavily contaminated with lead.
The Sentinel was the only local news source covering the first part of the zoning hearing last month, where nearly three dozen residents came out for the three-hour hearing.
Wednesday’s hearing was just as lengthy, and sometimes heated, with Stephen Loss, a project engineer contracted by U.S. Light Energy, presenting testimony.
Hubert Gilroy, the company’s engineer, said several school districts in eastern Pennsylvania have installed solar panels, trying to highlight their safety.
“Is it fair to say that if these solar panels were causing health concerns to students and to the public that they wouldn’t be constructed in conjunction with the schools,” Gilroy asked Loss.
“Yes,” Loss responded.
Gilroy then asked about uses in a light industrial zone, like the Ashland Metals property. Loss said warehouses, vehicle repair, heavy commercial, and more could be there under the zoning laws.
Under deed restrictions put in place by the Department of Environmental Protection, the property can be used for commercial operations, Loss said, if the solar farm is turned down.
They used self-storage units as an example of a use which would be permitted, and could be built much closer to homes than the solar farm is proposed to be. While the panels will be 10 feet at their highest, some of the permitted commercial uses could be as high as 40 feet.
“Certainly the neighbors and almost everybody in the area would be able to see them,” Gilroy asked Loss, who responded affirmatively.
However, the majority of the Ashland Metals property is currently visible from all neighboring roadways and most neighboring properties.
A new site plan was presented, in which the setback variance request was reduced to 150 feet along Germanville Road and Nater Street. The request remains 50 feet on the remaining sides of the property.
Because of noise concerns raised at February’s meeting, Loss said the number of inverters was reduced and centralized near the entrance on the southeast side of the property.
Each inverter would generate 73 decibels of noise at one meter away. Instead of 30 to 40 inverters, there would now be about 10. The nearest home would be about 435 feet from the nearest home, Loss said.
The company testified that existing tree lines would provide a natural buffer for the property. Those tree lines are primarily deciduous and provide little buffer in the wintertime, however.
They then presented a noise study that claims the facility will be inaudible at 50 to 100 feet from the property line.
Loss also testified that no glare would impact drivers or nearby residents, which elicited a response from a member of the public, calling it out as false.
He said that, there is the “small potential” for a few hours throughout the year and they could provide screening if necessary.
Loss testified that the site will not be graded and steps will be taken to preserve the soil cap, including using “lighter equipment” and placing the panels on concrete blocks. He said all wires will be above ground, as well.
Residents raised a wide variety of concerns in questioning Loss, including asking if any wildlife studies had been done, since the facility will be fenced off.
They also continued to seek assurances that the soil cap would not be broken. Residents also asked about the current condition of the cap, which they did not know at the time and planned to test.
One asked why a representative of DEP had not been present.
The township said that they are neutral on the use request, but oppose the variance request. They are also requesting that, if approved by zoning, DEP submit a letter saying that they approved the proposal as well.
Further testimony and questioning will be held in the third part of the hearing, set for April 10 at 6:30pm at the Butler Township Municipal Building.
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