A proposal for a massive industrial solar panel project slated for the Gettysburg/Littlestown area drew hundreds to the Littlestown Area High School Wednesday night for the first of four scheduled public hearings.
The meeting was a continuation of an initial hearing held in January.
If approved, the project proposed by Brookview Solar I LLC, a subsidiary of Florida company NextEra Energy Resources, would span nearly 1,000 acres over 26 different parcels on both sides of the Route 97 corridor between Littlestown and Gettysburg. The parcels are currently owned by 18 different landowners.
Brookville I is seeking approval for a conditional use permit for approximately 380 acres of land within the Baltimore Pike Corridor. The installation would also cover parts of over 700 acres of land located in Mt. Joy’s Agricultural Conservation zone. An existing Mt. Joy ordinance names industrial solar projects as a “permitted use” on the Agricultural Conservation land.
During the three and a half hour meeting Nextera lawyers stated the Brookview I application met all requirements of the solar zoning ordinance, including setbacks and landscaping and glare studies. These statements were confirmed by the Mt. Joy Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer, Shannon Hare.
An expert witness for the project, NextEra Senior Project Manager Chanelle Mayer, explained there are four criteria for every solar project. 1) solar resource (sun); 2) access to transmission lines; 3) no cultural or environmental constraints and 4) a customer. Ms. Mayer believes Mt. Joy fulfills the first three of these requirements. The last, a customer, they currently do not have.
The project opposition’s attorney and citizens with party status were allowed to cross-examine Mayer. Attorney Nathan Wolf asked for clarification of what was considered a “cultural” constraint, but Ms. Mayer was unable to give further clarification to this question. Mayer said the panels would be at the maximum 12 foot level for only a “very short period of time”, but could not state how long that period would be or the height of the panels when in a parked position. Some questions were deferred to a NextEra engineering consultant who was not at the meeting.
The hearing will reconvene Wednesday February 19th at 7:00 p.m. at the Littlestown High School, 200 E. Myrtle Street.
Additional meetings are scheduled for March 23rd and March 25th, each at 7:00 p.m. at the high school.
After the presentation of all expert witnesses from both sides time will be allotted for public response and comment. This is expected to occur during the March meetings.
Christine Demas is a farmer in Littlestown.