Solar farm grows to $65 million

The Lancaster County solar farm approved by East Drumore Township supervisors will be the largest on the East Coast, according to Gov. Rendell, who announced a $1 million grant to make the project possible.

The project, which includes 4,500 solar panels erected on 78 acres of the farm of Gerald and Linda Kreider at Deaver Road and Route 272, will cost $65 million and produce 15 megawatts of electricity for PPL.

When proposed in January, Radnor-based Community Energy spoke of a $20 million project to produce 6 megawatts of electricity.

Fifteen megawatts is enough energy to power 3,600 to 4,500 homes.

Ten-year-old Community Energy is one of the leading renewable-energy companies in the East, providing "green" power to 20 utilities. It has wind farms in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Illinois.

The company said it is turning to solar energy and is in the permitting stage with projects in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia.

East Drumore supervisors approved a conditional-use application for the project after months of review. The Lancaster County Planning Commission had recommended disapproval of the project, saying it was the wrong use for a farm on prime soils surrounded by preserved farms.

Supervisors, in approving the project, stipulated a $20,000 fund to make sure the property has adequate ground cover to prevent erosion and that noxious weeds or invasive plants don't grow.

The township will get $30,000 annually once the solar farm is in operation.

Also, the solar panels must be removed and the land returned to its natural state by May 2039, unless Community Energy seeks to continue production and the township approves it.

Construction is expected to begin by the end of the year.