Planning commission approves 3 MW Pivot Energy solar farm with comments over prime farmland and runoff

The Blair County Planning Commission voted to approve a three-phase, approximately 3 megawatt AC ground-mounted solar facility proposed by Pivot Energy in Taylor Township, while recording concerns about prime agricultural soils, stormwater controls, glare and nearby residences.

Planner presenting the project said the array would occupy roughly 22 acres and include about 6,700 single-axis-tracking panels. "This is the first time ... we've seen the developer actually returning the energy that is produced here in Blair County to Blair County," the presenter said, noting the project will connect locally to the grid and that Pivot is leasing land for the arrays.

Commissioners and members of the public raised several concerns: the site contains prime agricultural soils and sits in an ag-security area; Plum Creek is a Class I cold-water trout stream near the site and commissioners asked for robust erosion and stormwater controls during construction; neighbors and commissioners asked about glare and suggested additional landscaping or screening for the Sharpsburg area. The planner confirmed the design meets the township's solar ordinance setbacks (100 feet from parcel boundaries and 25 feet from utility rights-of-way), proposed an eight-foot security fence and a decommissioning plan, and noted additional technical reports on glare, wetlands and emergency response were included in the application.

Commission discussion noted uncertainty about whether the land is enrolled in farmland-preservation easements (it is in an ag-security area but not in the county easement program as presented). Commissioners asked staff to include comments about stormwater, erosion control and landscape buffering to reduce glare impacts on nearby residences.

Vote and next steps: the commission carried a motion to approve the project with comments and recommended conditions; the meeting record shows one commissioner voted against the motion. Staff will include the commission's comments in the record and forward technical issues to Taylor Township and other review bodies as required.

Provenance: planner presentation and technical details appeared in the meeting materials and the on-record presentation; public questioning and commission comments occurred during discussion of the Taylor Township application.