Lehman Township rejects application to use land for solar farm

The Lehman Township Zoning Board this week voted against a request for conditional land use approval for a solar farm, after residents had vocally opposed the proposal at the time, concerned about the impact on the value of their property.

“They’re going to make my house unsellable,” Roaring Brook Road resident Moriah Strenfel told the panel during a well-attended hearing Monday night, showing the crowd a view of the field near her home with pictures of solar panels stacked on it.

Susquehanna Solar, a South Carolina-based company, has applied for approval to build a 46-acre solar farm in a prime agricultural district.

The company’s motion was unanimously rejected by the three members present: Brian Dorian, Fred Valentine and John Hanish.

Board members declined to discuss the decision with reporters after the meeting.

Susquehanna Solar has not yet decided whether it will appeal the board’s decision, said operations manager Jon Wadsworth.

Long hearings, strong emotions

Monday’s hearing was the third on the proposal, and each one has drawn a raucous audience.

The first date was postponed after Around 200 residents filled the town hall and flocked to the parking lotTo accommodate the demand, the community moved its hearings to the Misericordia University.

The second event took place on Friday and was postponed until Monday after five hours of discussions. On Monday, around 100 residents came, many wearing red stickers reading “Ban large solar plants.”

This hearing also lasted about five hours.

At the last hearing in Lehman Township on a 47-acre solar project on August 19, about a hundred residents wore stickers reading “Ban Large-Scale Solar.”

Residents filed petitions, conducted research, and some contacted lawyers to fight the project.

Linda Bevan lives on Roaring Brook Road, which borders the proposed project site. She and her husband, Ken, “researched everything they could think of on solar energy” before the hearings.

Linda Bevan argued against the 47-acre solar farm proposed by Susquehanna Solar on August 19. She lives on Roaring Brook Road, which borders the project. Bevan also criticized — Linda Bevan spoke out against Susquehanna Solar’s proposed 47-acre solar farm on Aug. 19. She lives on Roaring Brook Road in Lehman Township in Luzerne County, which borders the project. Bevan also criticized the developer for not sending her notice of its application because she lives in the area the township considers “directly affected” by the project.

“One person called the fire department, and then another person called various fire departments throughout the county,” Linda said. “And we reached out and called every single fire department you could imagine.”

Ken said they formed a group of about eight residents who met weekly to “work out our plan of attack.” They called the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Ken said, to name a few.

Several residents questioned whether Susquehanna Solar, a South Carolina-based company, could be trusted to address complications such as solar panels breaking or fires occurring.

Moriah Strenfel’s husband, Eric, expressed concern that Susquehanna Solar might sell the property to foreign investors who would not be concerned with maintaining foreign-owned buildings.

“This is the horror scenario that is currently playing out in small towns across America. We have a chance to preserve the integrity of our small towns and prevent something like this from happening,” Strenfel said.

However, the residents’ biggest concern was property prices, his wife stressed, adding that the solar panels would be installed 45 meters from their house.

“And if you do that, why do we have development plans at all? They don’t protect us as residents or our property,” she said.

Strenfel asked residents if they would rather have a view of an open field or a solar farm. The entire crowd, including House hopeful Jamie Walsh, raised their hands for the field.

Moriah Strenfel showed residents on August 19 what the view from their home could look like if the Lehman community approved Susquehanna Solar's project. — Moriah Strenfel showed residents on August 19 what the view from their home could look like if the Lehman community approved Susquehanna Solar’s project.

Walsh, whose race for the state House of Representatives is still ongoing almost four months after the primaries,is a vocal opponent of Susquehanna Solar. He said he has attended every hearing on two of the developer’s projects, one in Lehman and another in Nanticoke.

“They always say, ‘Let’s be a friendly neighbor’ or ‘a good neighbor.’ Well, in my opinion, what they mean by ‘good neighbor’ is they’ll devalue the property values around (the solar project) and make you an offer to buy (your property) and expand (the solar project) … they’ll just eat up this community like Pacman,” Walsh said.

Eric Strenfel shows residents what 150 feet looks like by projecting the distance onto a picture of the Lehman Township municipal building at the third hearing on Susquehanna Solar's proposed solar project. The Planning Board voted against the developer's request on August 19. — Eric Strenfel shows residents what 150 feet looks like by projecting the distance onto a picture of the Lehman Township municipal building at the third hearing on Susquehanna Solar’s proposed solar project. The Planning Board voted against the developer’s request on August 19.

He also mentioned the state HB2104which has not been discussed in the state parliament since 2022. The draft law contains guidelines for the decommissioning of solar modules when they are outdated.

“I just want everyone here to know that this issue is already on the radar in the state of Pennsylvania and they are aware of it, but nothing is happening in Harrisburg,” Walsh said.

Susquehanna “disappointed” by rejection

Wadsworth, of Susquehanna, admitted he did not expect the planning authority to deny the conditional use application. It would have been the first but not the last step toward starting construction.

“We are disappointed in the decision … but we are glad that we witnessed an informed citizenry and people came out and voiced their opinions,” Wadsworth said. “I think it was good for democracy that we were able to openly discuss the differences of opinion.”

In a separate matter, the Nanticoke City Council will vote on Susquehanna Solar’s other planned solar farm in Luzerne County tonight at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall.

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