Venango County Regional Planning Commission members gave conditional approval Tuesday to land development plans for a solar farm in Cherrytree Township.
The plan is to construct a 20-megawatt solar installation on 324 acres along Route 8 on properties owned by Carmen and Antoinette Paliotta and Lewis Staub, said David Weightman, the project developer with Cypress Creek Renewables.
Construction is set to begin in March 2022.
The five connected fields of solar panels will be mounted on racks and slowly follow the sun across the sky, Weightman said. The area will be fenced in and serviced by gravel access roads.
“We have worked to make sure this is the least intrusive project possible,” Weightman said.
There will be a lack of lighting and it will not create noise, and there will be no substation or batteries on the site, according to Weightman.
Screening will be set up along Route 8 so people don’t have to look at the solar farm while driving on the road.
Weightman added that he hopes the screening will also help cut down on some of the wind that whips across the road in the wintertime and makes driving difficult.
The life of the project is expected to be 40 years, then the solar farm will be decommissioned and the land restored to its present state, Weightman said.
Ruggiero added that Erik Johnson, the recycling and solid waste coordinator, continues to get the new county recycling center operational. The goal is to have it up and running by June or July at the former CATA bus depot near Venango Regional Airport.
Community development planner Josh Sterling said he is working on a grant project with Two Mile Run County Park manager Luke Kauffman for improvements at the park this summer.
The project will include updating restrooms and replacing a pavilion, Sterling said.
Deconstruction began Monday on the Dotter Road Bridge in Polk, said Hilary Buchanan, the planning commission’s deputy director. She said work on the bridge will begin in May.
Buchanan also said she is looking into possible resolutions to issues with Washington Crossing in Franklin.
