More and more solar panels will be constructed throughout Sussex County as county officials act on several applications for rural projects. RON MACARTHUR PHOTO
By Ron MacArthur, Cape Gazette
Solar farms are rapidly becoming another cash crop for Sussex County farmers. Over the past two years, three solar projects have been approved, another six are pending a decision by Sussex County Council and another was introduced during the council’s Jan. 20 meeting. All of the projects are located on farmland.
In Sussex County, conditional-use applications are required because solar farms are not a permitted use in AR-1, agricultural-residential, zoning.
The largest project to date was approved in 2022. Freeman Solar has plans to construct a 75-megawatt solar farm with 166,500 panels on 10 parcels totaling 351 acres on Calhoun Road near Milford.
Two other projects have been approved:
• Broom Solar Partners – 3 megawatts on 35 acres on the north side of Frankford School Road near Pyle Center Road near Frankford
• Heimlich Solar Partners – 4.5 megawatts with 16,000 solar panels on 35 acres on the east side of Mile Stretch Road and near the Delaware Electric Cooperative facility near Greenwood. Many of the proposed solar fields will provide power to the cooperative.
Pending are:
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