Yet Another Solar Panel Farm Approved in Forks Township

Yet another solar panel farm is set to be spawned in Forks Township now that the township Board of Supervisors has approved the installation for Career Institute of Technology.

On Thursday, supervisors approved a conditional use application from the Kesslersville Road vocational school allowing it to construct panels on both the roof and ground on the property covering just over an acre. As part of the approval, the school must provide a continuous screening of tree plantings 8 feet east and north of the solar panels with the species of the trees to be determined by township recommendations.

The estimated cost of the project is $2 million. Arif Fazil, an engineer with D’Huy Engineering, Bethlehem, said part of the project would be paid for with a grant from the Community Economic Development Fund. Once completed, 17 percent of the energy used at the school will be offset from the 400-kilowatt system, he added.

The panels will stand 7 feet 6 inches with tree buffers surrounding them. The proposal, however, has prompted concern from some residents in the area who say the buffers would not provide enough coverage and would be visible from their properties.

Plans had called for trees of 6 to 8 feet high to be placed in 10-foot intervals around the southern and western side of the properties for a total of 24 trees. But residents concern over the eastern and northern portions of the property not having proper coverings as well prompted supervisors to impose additional conditions.

“That’s not just farmland over there,” said Supervisor C. David Howell.  “You could have homes on that side and they could occur anytime the [housing] market opens up.”

But Fazil said the school took every concern of residents into consideration.

“We’ve got to either comply or scrap our project,” said Fazil. “We didn’t just haphazardly put them up. We were very careful where we put the panels.”

 A portion of the property is reserved as farmland preservation.

 “The only concern was the view,” said township zoning officer Tim Weis.

Weis said during a previous planning commission meeting that residents said they wanted low, hearty tree coverage that would cover the site line of the panels but still allow for a view.

“I’m a big fan of solar panels but I’m not a fan of giving people a break just so they can get a few more kilowatts out of it and having an eyesore,” said Howell. “Solar panels are ugly but they’re necessary.”

This is the second solar panel farm to be approved in the township. In 2009, Crayola announced that it would be constructing a 15-acre solar panel park at its township facility. The 26,000-fixed-panel plan converts 1.5 megawatts of electric power, according to a Crayola release. Funds for the $1.5 million project were from a grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and a joint project with PPL and UGI Energy Services. The project was completed in August 2010.