An Erie-based energy company is suing East Huntingdon, claiming a new ordinance effectively bans solar farms in the township.
GreenKey Development Inc. says in its lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County court that East Huntingdon supervisors hastily and improperly adopted an ordinance in February to set specific and strict requirements for solar developments. The company says the township is not permitted to adopt those provisions and regulations.
The ordinance regulates where solar farms — large-scale installations of solar panels designed to convert sunlight into electricity for distribution to the grid — can be built. It also requires companies to submit detailed plans to decommission the farms or prepay for their eventual removal. The ordinance essentially serves as a land-use regulation in place of nonexistent zoning, the lawsuit claims.
“Because the township has not adopted a zoning ordinance, its attempts to regulate the use of land for solar energy generation facilities exceed the powers and authorities granted to it by the General Assembly,” the lawsuit states.
The company claims it first notified township officials of its development plans in May 2024 and, during a meeting in January with supervisors, disclosed specifics of the proposal that involved three local properties. East Huntingdon’s ordinance, which was adopted Feb. 20, had not been made public or advertised for consideration at the time of that meeting, the lawsuit states.
GreenKey attorney Michael Korns said details of the company’s solar project in East Huntingdon have not been made public.
East Huntingdon solicitor Aaron Bialon declined to comment on the lawsuit’s allegations. Township Supervisors Paul E. Hodgkiss, Justin G. Morrow and James J. Keefer did not respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit is asking a judge to determine whether township officials used an improper procedure in how they quickly considered and adopted the regulations, and whether the ordinance violates the state Constitution.
“The ordinance was adopted in order to prevent, restrain or restrict GreenKey’s otherwise lawful use of the properties and attempts to regulate only one land use with the township,” the lawsuit claims.
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GreenKey’s proposed solar farm project in Unity also is pending court review. The company has appealed the Unity zoning board’s denial in December for a special exemption under the township’s zoning regulations to erect a 12,800-panel solar array on property along Charles Houck Road.
Solar power generating stations have become more prevalent throughout Westmoreland County in recent years, and more are being planned.
In January, North Huntingdon’s zoning board unanimously approved plans for a solar panel development on a 30-acre residential property along Schade Hill Road.
Hempfield supervisors last month approved a plan to install solar panels on municipal property, and the county housing authority has started planning for installation of them on property behind Hempfield Towers to power the low-income senior high-rise.
Meanwhile, a 10-acre solar farm became operational in 2021 to power the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County’s sewer plant in Hempfield. It operates with nearly 11,000 solar panels and produces about 3 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year.
More than 3,200 panels were installed that same year along the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass in Hempfield to help power maintenance buildings.