(April 7, 2016) Another photovoltaic solar farm in Worcester County similar to the one proposed off Libertytown Road in Berlin will have its own public hearing at the Snow Hill Library tonight, April 7, at 7 p.m.
Longview Solar LLC is seeking approval for both facilities. The one in Berlin had a public hearing last week in Ocean Pines.
The proposed facility will generate up to 15 megawatts of power on 125 acres of land, and is proposed to be located about one-quarter of a mile from the intersection of Route 113 and Public Landing Road. Its design shows in running the length of the northerly side of Public Landing Road to near Mt. Wesley Road and will cover most of the area south of the treeline, except for where a few residential properties stand.
According to the testimony of John Sherwell, administrator of atmospheric sciences at the power plant research program of the department of natural resources, up to 23 acres would need to be cleared for the project, but a majority of the land has already been cleared for its previous use as farmland.
The farms have limited access for birds and wildlife, Sherwell said, so this kind of development may actually increase their numbers. However, two species of rare plant life, pale green orchids and Mississippi buttercup, have been identified in the area, which will affect construction.
Most of the other identified environmental impacts are lessened by the proposal to allow for 35-foot setbacks near existing ditches or forest edge and for 25-foot setbacks from wetlands.
Sherwell said Longview would have to provide at least 43.4 acres of mitigation under the Forest Conservation Law to build the facility.
Public Utility Law Judge Ryan McLean is scheduled to administer the meeting and hear comments about the proposal, according to Public Service Commission spokeswoman Tori Leonard.
Documents related to the project are available through the PSC’s website: www.psc.state.md.us and can be found by referencing case number 9405. The filing contains maps, and more than one hundred pages of documents and exhibits.
Written comments about the project can be filed until April 29 and addressed to PSC Executive Secretary David Collins at 6 St. Paul Street in Baltimore, 21202.
Longview Solar LLC is seeking approval for both facilities. The one in Berlin had a public hearing last week in Ocean Pines.
The proposed facility will generate up to 15 megawatts of power on 125 acres of land, and is proposed to be located about one-quarter of a mile from the intersection of Route 113 and Public Landing Road. Its design shows in running the length of the northerly side of Public Landing Road to near Mt. Wesley Road and will cover most of the area south of the treeline, except for where a few residential properties stand.
According to the testimony of John Sherwell, administrator of atmospheric sciences at the power plant research program of the department of natural resources, up to 23 acres would need to be cleared for the project, but a majority of the land has already been cleared for its previous use as farmland.
The farms have limited access for birds and wildlife, Sherwell said, so this kind of development may actually increase their numbers. However, two species of rare plant life, pale green orchids and Mississippi buttercup, have been identified in the area, which will affect construction.
Most of the other identified environmental impacts are lessened by the proposal to allow for 35-foot setbacks near existing ditches or forest edge and for 25-foot setbacks from wetlands.
Sherwell said Longview would have to provide at least 43.4 acres of mitigation under the Forest Conservation Law to build the facility.
Public Utility Law Judge Ryan McLean is scheduled to administer the meeting and hear comments about the proposal, according to Public Service Commission spokeswoman Tori Leonard.
Documents related to the project are available through the PSC’s website: www.psc.state.md.us and can be found by referencing case number 9405. The filing contains maps, and more than one hundred pages of documents and exhibits.
Written comments about the project can be filed until April 29 and addressed to PSC Executive Secretary David Collins at 6 St. Paul Street in Baltimore, 21202.