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Democrats and advocates say industry freezes leave Pennsylvania behind other states and give consumers fewer choices.
“Community solar is important because it empowers underserved populations, such as renters, low-income people, and those without adequate roofs or infrastructure, to go solar,” said Jenny Tompkins, campaign manager for Penn Future.
During the solar eclipse that will take place on April 8, Americans will look up to the sky in eclipse glasses. But this means more than just the opportunity to worry about possible damage to your eyesight.
In an increasingly solar-powered energy ecosystem, darkening the sky at noon is a big deal. “The implications for solar power generation are actually pretty significant,” Barry Mather, a senior engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, told CNET.
Fortunately, because solar eclipses are unusually predictable, grid operators have had plenty of time to prepare for the effects. Therefore, it is unlikely that most Americans will see any changes to their electricity system.
What a four-minute eclipse means for our power grid.
A solar eclipse, which causes a temporary loss of sunlight as it blocks the moon’s rays, is critical to the ever-growing supply of installed solar power in the United States.
“The grid will have to figure out how to match supply and demand in that window if that power source goes out, even for a few minutes,” said Benjamin Lee, a professor of electrical and systems engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.
That may seem like a blip — the total loss of sunlight will last just 4 minutes anywhere — but it ignores the eclipse’s broader effects.
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Areas within the “zone of totality” will experience total darkness, but areas near and far from that zone will still experience a partial loss of sunlight. What’s more, although totality lasts only 4 minutes, the transition in and out of the eclipse can last several hours in some places. This means a longer period of reduction in solar production.
“It’s really going to affect the entire United States to varying degrees,” Mather said.
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The effects could be particularly severe in Texas, which has increased its reliance on solar power in recent years and is directly in the path of totality, according to Jin Tan, NREL’s chief engineer.
The nationwide loss of sunlight during the eclipse will lead to reduced solar production. But this isn’t just a problem with rooftop solar for individual homeowners, it’s also a big hit to the power grid.
That’s because utilities have invested in many large-scale solar projects, which they now rely on to keep the grid running. Each utility prepares for the eclipse in a unique way, Tan said, but generally they will need to ramp up other power sources (such as oil, gas and hydro plants) to cover the temporary loss of solar power.
That could be difficult because of the speed of the eclipse, Tan said. The diurnal transition to nighttime, which obviously reduces solar energy, is quite slow. But during an eclipse, the switching speed can be almost twice as fast, meaning utilities have to step up other power sources very quickly.
The good news is that it’s all predictable, and utilities have been here before, most recently in 2017. The NREL report notes that, “The 2017 total solar eclipse came and went without causing any disruption to North American electricity. system.” There’s more utility-scale solar than there was in 2017, but if all goes according to plan, electricity consumers shouldn’t experience any kind of gridlock.
And here’s another silver lining: “It’s like an experiment for things that are less predictable and will happen in the future,” Mather said, like storms or wildfire smoke that damage solar generation without warning.
If you want to get out there and see this heavenly sight, here are some tips:
The recent destruction of solar panels at the Fighting Jays Solar Farm in Texas has raised concerns among local residents about potential soil contamination and highlighted reliability gaps in solar power. The 3,300-hectare solar farm was hit by heavy hail and many of its solar cells were destroyed. Drone footage of the farm went viral, showing the extent of the baseball-sized hail in action.
This incident highlighted the vulnerability of large-scale solar installations, particularly in regions prone to extreme weather conditions. Texas, like every state, must prioritize reliability when designing its power grids.
A few years ago, Texans learned another hard lesson about overreliance on weather-dependent power. In an analysis of the Texas power grid crisis in 2021, the Texas Public Policy Foundation found that:
After the 2011 outages, more than $60 billion in capital investment went into wind and solar power generation, and generating sources produced less than 1 GW of power on the night of February 16, 2021, at the height of Winter Storm Uri.
Since that crisis, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, has been trying to set new reliability standards to fill supply gaps and ensure power transmission. There are federal policies that require or encourage grids to switch to high-cost and unreliable sources of electricity generation. Among them are the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed power plant rule, which would jeopardize the ability of many existing power plants to stay online, as well as billions in funding for solar and wind projects in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Hailstorms damaging solar farms are hardly a new problem. Last year, a solar farm in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, was damaged in June and restarted about six months later. Not a bad return considering the labor involved in removing, replacing and recycling the panels. But what would happen if the grid used primarily renewable electricity without reliable backup sources like nuclear, natural gas, or coal?
Texas residents near the panels shared their concerns about the damage with the local FOX network. One resident said: “My neighbors have children and many other residents with well water are concerned that chemicals are now seeping into our water tables.”
To be clear, damage to a solar panel does not necessarily mean it is leaking hazardous chemicals. Solar panels are made from materials that must be disposed of in a certain way to prevent soil and groundwater contamination. EPA and state landfills have established procedures for disposal of solar panels. The same is true for most electronics, such as televisions and laptops.
However, residents’ immediate concern stems from the reality that grid planners must wisely weigh the risks of solar installations and prepare for quick cleanup should disaster strike.
Severe weather is a fact of life in many states and is not something we can avoid. It’s just something we have to prepare for and adapt to. Car dealers occasionally sell hail-damaged cars in the Midwest, and it’s not uncommon for home roofs to need repair due to hail damage.
States should prioritize reliable electricity over politicians’ wind and solar goals. Solar energy may have a place in our energy grid, but it is a vulnerable resource. This reality must be taken into account when planning our energy future.
(Center Square) – A state-funded plan to bring solar power to more residents cleared the Pennsylvania House of Representatives this week.
The proposal suggests using federal subsidies to expand access for renters or those without suitable roofs or land for panels to take advantage of the savings from solar energy.
While the technology is developing in many communities, bill sponsor Allentown Democratic Rep. Peter Schweyer said his area — where renters make up 65% — has row houses and historic districts where solar panels are not feasible.
Not using existing federal grants, Schweyer said, would make the bill less likely to advance in a recent committee hearing. Care was taken to ensure zero negative impact on non-solar ratepayers.
“For years, we’ve been hung up on how to help community solar grow,” he said during Tuesday’s vote. “And many, both inside and outside our chamber, have rightly insisted that the cost of these developments should never be passed on to other ratepayers.”
Critics, however, said the state needs a plan for the future when community solar facilities reach the end of their useful lives and require expensive maintenance.
Rep. Rep. Cathy Rapp, R-Warren, said it’s a lesson the state learned too late about the coal and natural gas industries. Leaving the problem to the next generation, he added, could be environmentally “heavy” at a high cost.
“Our communities need to make sure that Pennsylvania has decommissioning, destruction, reclamation plans and recovery plans in place before solar panels end up in our landfills,” Rapp said.
The House passed the bill by a vote of 111-99. An accompanying financial memo estimates it would cost the state a little over $1.4 million to hire new staff to help facilitate the legislation.
House Bill 1842 is sent to the Senate for consideration.
Using data from Zillow, Stacker compiled a list of the cities with the fastest growing home prices in the Philadelphia metro area.
Gallery credit: Stacker
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BARTON COUNTY — Members of the Barton County Planning Commission breathed a collective sigh of relief after a lengthy morning meeting March 14.
They approved a final draft of new zoning regulations and a revised zoning map governing the development of large-scale and commercial solar energy conversion systems, rules approved Friday by the Barton County Commission during a special meeting. The moves involved 10 months of difficult meetings, hearings and candid testimony as county residents grappled with the idea of installing solar power in their backyards.
For years, Chicago-based Acciona Energy USA has hoped to soon finalize and build what has become a multimillion-dollar commercial solar farm in north-central Barton County. The project pitted concerned landowners against landowners who felt their land-use rights were in jeopardy because of its proximity to the Cheyenne Bottoms, the internationally recognized and largest wetland in the interior of the United States.
“It’s been a heated, contentious and emotional issue,” said Judy Goreham, the county’s environmental manager, who oversees the planning commission.
The planning commission, a volunteer body, is tasked with reviewing and recommending zoning regulations that will affect Acciona’s efforts. Members spent a year drafting zoning regulations for commercial solar, something that is no longer on the county’s books.
Planning commission member Russell Carson said, “I’m glad it’s behind us.
Although the project was approved unanimously, it was the product of intense debate and compromise as commissioners weighed the pros and cons of the project.
Goreham took the commission through the revised guidelines page by page. The project incorporated comments from countless public hearings and more than 600 edits submitted by Acciona.
The planning commission also considered several zoning map alternatives, factoring in the Cheyenne Bottoms and the Wetlands and Wildlife National Scenic Byway, which cuts through the region. The approved regulations allow for a two-mile no-build zone around the wetland and an existing one-mile no-build zone along the road.
This meant that the project was then subject to a 14-day public comment period. If no objections are raised, the project can be sent to the Barton County Commission.
And this created a problem.
Last May, the county commission approved a moratorium on all commercial-scale solar projects in the county to give the zoning group time to draft regulations. The county commission was supposed to end Sunday before it was scheduled to reconvene.
But commissioners called a special meeting Friday, approved the zoning changes and allowed the moratorium to expire.
Barton County Planning Commission member Mary Ann Stoskopf, center, discusses new zoning maps that include changes for solar farms during a March 14 commission meeting. Also pictured are commissioners James Welch and Billie Bonomo. (Dale Hogg for The Kansas Reflector)
Friday’s meeting was packed and included more emotional comments from both sides of the issue. But in the end, county commissioners bowed out to large-scale solar installations while noting the cost of the debate to their constituents.
“It pits neighbors against neighbors. We need to end this division,” said Commissioner Tricia Schlessiger. “Let’s remember that we are all neighbors and friends.”
According to him, both sides have reached a compromise and now it is time to come together again.
There are more decisions to be made.
“It’s frustrating,” Goreham said. “This is for all solar projects. It’s not just for Acciona. All we do now is write the rules,” something most people close to the issue don’t understand.
“Everybody is so into it,” he said. It has become a very emotional issue, and it has clouded much of the public debate.
Acciona, he said, has yet to submit its application. At that point, the rules will kick in, and after public notices, public hearings and an objection period, the county commission will have the final say.
The planning commission, which operates independently of the county commission, began work in early 2023 to combine existing rules developed for wind turbines in 2008 with solar rules from other counties and cities.
“I put them all together and we went line by line,” Goreham said.
Meanwhile, the county commission has put a moratorium on solar development.
Planning commissioners gathered input from the public, businesses, government agencies and discussion groups, including for Cheyenne Bottoms.
After meetings were held with Acciona, utility companies, government agencies and conservation groups, a project by the summer of 2023 emerged. By December 2023, the first version of the guidelines was ready.
Two of the public hearings drew large crowds, the first a raucous gathering filled with emotional opposition and opponents voicing conspiracy theories.
But “there was some constructive feedback,” Gorehan said.
A power substation on Great Bend’s eastern edge will be used by a proposed commercial solar farm in Barton County. (Dale Hogg for The Kansas Reflector)
With advances in technology and the growth of renewable energy, counties across the state are scrambling to develop guidelines.
The plan in Barton County is for a 300-megawatt facility with two 150-MW units, said Josh Svaty, a former state agriculture secretary and attorney working for Acciona, who attended the March 14 meeting. There will also be two battery storage slots.
“We appreciate the work done by the planning and zoning and county commission,” Svaty said. “We await the end of the moratorium and potentially the opportunity to file.”
Acciona, a subsidiary of Spain-based Acciona Group Madrid, has leased several thousand acres with the option to build. But the final installation will cover about 2,100 acres, Svaty said.
According to him, the final footprint of the solar arrays will be based on the zoning map requirements.
They will have to “stitch together” the locations to accommodate the required acreage, but hope to keep them as contiguous as possible for efficiency.
The company plans to connect to an existing substation at the northeast corner of the Great Loop and a new substation to be built further north and east. There is also a power transmission line passing through this area.
Besides, “it’s hard to have a concrete conversation about the project,” Svaty said.
According to him, before Acciona submits its application, there are still several steps to be taken, such as an environmental impact study. This will provide more detail on the scope and financial/economic impact of the effort.
Company officials noted about 300 on-site workers during construction and about 30 long-term workers for project operation and maintenance. Also discussed was $1.6 million in tax revenue for the county.
Once ground is broken, construction will take 18 months to two years, Svaty said.
Acciona will receive a 10-year federal property tax abatement starting when the project goes online. But, Svaty said, instead of paying the taxes, the company will enter into a donation agreement with the county, the amount of which will be discussed during the application process.
Svaty said that the user of the produced electricity will depend on who buys it. Some of the power may be used by Barton County consumers.
It would be entirely outside Great Bend city limits, but portions of the proposed development site fall within the city’s three-mile extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction. City officials began debating the zoning requirements, but were waiting on the county for both ordinances to come into line.
An example of the solar collection system Acciona Energy hopes to install in Barton County. This is the High Point Solar Project in Illinois. (Acciona Energy)
Not much is known about how solar farms affect migrating wildlife, said Jerry Nye of the conservation group Ducks Unlimited.
“My main objection is the location,” Nye said. “If they’d just moved this thing five miles one way or the other, we wouldn’t be having all this discussion.”
He said the birds fly low to the ground, creating a chance of colliding with the panels, especially when they head into the wind. There’s a “lake effect” where birds mistake glowing solar panels for a body of water, he said.
Cheyenne Bottoms is recognized as a wetland of international importance through the Ramsar Convention. It’s an important stop along the Central Flyway, an aerial highway used by birds—some of which are endangered, such as the whooping crane—migrating back and forth between Canada and South America.
Opponents fear that this will have a negative impact on this migration process.
If the materials in the panels are damaged, there is also the possibility of toxic contamination from them
Other concerns include the potential for fires from storage battery sites, the negative impact of solar installations on property taxes, and the involvement of an international corporation.
“They will never understand or respect the importance of Cheyenne Bottoms to Barton County and the world,” said outdoor enthusiast Dan Witt. “He can never be replaced, and it is not logical or even conceivable to risk him to anyone for any amount of money.”
He submitted a petition to the county commission with more than 1,400 signatures opposing the plan.
The bottoms complex covers approximately 41,000 acres in Barton County and is the largest wetland in the interior of the U.S. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks manages approximately 20,000 of these acres, and the Nature Conservancy owns and manages approximately 8,000 acres in the Cheyenne Bottoms Preserve.
Chris Clasen, who leases land to Acciona, said it has been “kind of a squeaky wheel for our land rights.”
“I feel we have the right to lease our land for this,” Klasen said.
He said he understood the concerns, but “there’s no indication that the birds are going to land on these.”
The panels do not lie flat and are designed to absorb, not reflect, light.
Furthermore, he argued that existing highways and power lines probably kill more birds than any solar installation.
In addition, thousands of hunters visit the bottoms every year and kill thousands of birds.
“It’s kind of hypocritical. I could lease my land for hunting and no one would have a problem with that,” Klasen said.
“We built cities there,” he said. “We have built residential buildings there. We even built a landfill there (Barton County Landfill). Birds are still migrating.”
According to him, there are already oil wells and private solar panels in the area. It was even used as a practice bombing range for B-29 bomber crews during World War II.
He said he was a sixth-generation farmer and that the house dates back to 1871, when settlers were considered pioneers.
“Renewable energy is coming,” he said. “We’re on the verge of pioneering that right now.”
Steve Nilland of Big Bend owns a two-mile tract of land within the undeveloped zone with his brothers.
He said he understands the concerns about wildlife. But, he said, they have always managed the land responsibly and feel they should be allowed to use their property as they see fit.
“I think we have to use good common sense,” Neeland said.
