CUMBERLAND — While county officials don’t have the power to stop a proposed solar farm in their own jurisdiction, they plan to voice concerns and encourage area residents to do the same.
The issue was discussed at Thursday’s Allegany County Board of Commissioners meeting.
LaVale resident Gregg Donaldson said installation of 15,000 solar panels are planned for farmland in his neighborhood in the area of Helmstetter’s Curve on Cash Valley Road.
“I recently attended an informational meeting by the company who has a signed contract with the current farm owner,” he said. “There is the potential that only a few residents of Allegany County would benefit.”
Donaldson said many other areas of the county would be more suitable for a solar farm.
The proposed location on Cash Valley Road would negatively impact “the iconic farm scene that for years has been enjoyed and photographed by many (people) biking and hiking the Great Allegheny Passage trail or riding the scenic railroad train from Cumberland to Frostburg.”
Board of Commissioners President Dave Caporale said the solar farm proposal did not include input from county officials.
“I think everybody is in agreement with you,” he told Donaldson.
“There are a lot of places in our large county that may be more suitable for something like this.”
County attorney T. Lee Beeman said state, rather than local, officials control location for such projects.
“Essentially the state takes away our ability to choose — under our own zoning regulations — where we can place solar projects,” he said.
However, county officials and impacted residents can offer input about the proposal during the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity process, Beeman said.
“We’ll get notice when the developer applies for that CPCN and we’ll have the opportunity to submit comments,” he said. “While we don’t have the ability to talk about zoning location, we do have the ability to talk about and provide input on development standards.”
Cash Valley Road resident Susan Mallozzi said the project would cause the Helmstetter’s Curve area to become an eyesore for tourists who pass through scenic Mountain Maryland.
“We are against the proposed solar farm,” she said.
“We live directly across from the site.”
Green fields that could be lost to the project have in past years “produced rows and rows of corn and the best Timothy hay around,” Mallozzi said.
“We feel our property values will be at great risk,” she said. “Citizens are at the hands of big companies who search for land to make a profit in the name of green energy with no regard to our land preservation.”
Commissioner Bill Atkinson said the GAP is one of the best recreational trails in the country.
“That is one of the most scenic parts of the whole trail,” he said of the area proposed for the solar farm.
“We hear your concerns and we’re definitely letting people know that we’re not in favor of that in any way, shape or form.”