LITTLESTOWN – Sen. Doug Mastriano of Adams & Franklin Counties joined with farmland preservation activists, farmers, and public officials in Adams County to discuss legislation the lawmaker introduced to protect farmland against solar panel over-development. Supervisors in Mount Joy Township, Adams County voted on June 3, 2021 to reject a conditional-use permit that would have enabled a company to build 330,000 12-foot-high solar panels on 1,000 acres on 18 farms. Senate Bill 798 aims to prevent similar projects in the future by encouraging solar panel installation on alternate locations, such as old industrial sites, capped landfills, warehouse rooftops, and other non-agricultural sites. Mastriano added that they are not against solar energy, but in support of responsible solar development on alternate sites while protecting prime farmland in PA. The bill is before the PA Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee.
SEN. DOUG MASTRIANO