Lancaster County, PA — Solar Development Risk Assessment

No Moratorium

None codified at county level. Municipal (township/borough) setbacks govern.

Municipal Planning Board/Zoning Hearing Board: CUP or Special Exception. No county-level siting authority in PA; each municipality has own zoning ordinance.

Divided — Plain community landowners often willing to lease but face community pressure; non-Plain landowners receptive; some municipal boards resistant

Prime farmland solar target county; very active development; Plain community (Amish/Mennonite) landowner base provides lease opportunities but also cultural opposition; no state preemption

Stable

Local permit: Conditional Use or Special Exception in agricultural zoning district; governed by PA Municipalities Planning Code (MPC), 53 P.S. §10101 et seq. No statewide preemption of local ordinances — municipalities and counties may restrict or prohibit utility-scale solar without state override. ~5% of PA's 2,559 municipal codes explicitly address grid-scale solar (Penn State Dickinson Law, 2023); most projects require ordinance amendment or variance. No state CPCN requirement for solar. Net metering available under PA Act 35 of 2007. AEPS Act 213 of 2004: ~18% renewable energy standard; no significant solar carve-out.

PA Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS): 18% Tier I renewable by 2021 (met); no solar-specific carve-out in AEPS — PA's renewable credit market is small vs. NJ/MD. Net metering: PA Act 35 of 2007; net metering for systems up to 5 MW; PPL, PECO, Met-Ed, West Penn, Penelec, Penn Power offer programs. SREC market: very limited; PA SRECs trade at near-floor value. USDA REAP grants and loans: available for rural projects. PACE financing: available in Allegheny, Philadelphia, and other PA counties. Solar not preempted: all PA utility-scale permitting at local zoning level. Utility varies by county: PECO (Philadelphia/SE PA); PPL (eastern/central PA); West Penn Power (FirstEnergy, SW/western PA); Met-Ed (eastern border); Penelec (Allegheny/NW PA areas); Duquesne Light (Allegheny County metro).

Lancaster County has very limited utility-scale solar due to extensive farmland easements: Pennsylvania leads nation with 6,044 preserved farms (PA Dept of Agriculture); Lancaster and Berks counties have the most easements (Penn State Lancaster Farming article). Practical constraint: "There's no way to put together a solar project without bumping into a preserved farm." SolarBank Corporation announced 7 MW Stauffer Project community solar (Sep 2024, ABC27), pending HB 1842 enactment. Very few large ground-mount projects feasible.

Brookview Solar I | Size TBD | CUP denied | 2023 | Reason: Commonwealth Court affirmed municipality denial of conditional use application