Additional 64 Acres Approved for Winner Solar Project
By Christopher Miller
LOCK HAVEN – The Clinton County Zoning Hearing Board met last Tuesday evening for a Conditional Use Hearing concerning the addition of 64 acres to the already proposed Winner Solar, LLC project in West Keating Township.
The project, which will bring a 120MW (megawatt) facility spanning over 3,200 acres in West Keating Township, was first approved under Special Exception in 2021. The 16 or so parcels are zoned Rural Forest (RF) District.
Representatives Rob Gee, Development Manager, and Gena Shelton, Public Engagement Manager of Apex Clean Energy, the company behind the Winner Solar Project, were present at the hearing.
“We are seeking to add an additional 64 acres to the project to accommodate a switchyard/substation to connect the solar panels to the grid,” Gee said during the hearing. “We started doing work on the other 3,200 acres of the site earlier this fall preparing for assessments, surveys, and studies for the permitting process.”
Apex Clean Energy, based out of Charlottesville, Virginia, was formed in 2009 with wind energy projects in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
“Some farmland is being retired, or temporarily retired for nutrient recycling, so farmers are beginning to put solar farms up which typically last about 30 years,” Gee said. “As for this site, it can still be used for hunting and managed forestry as the solar panels will not be overwhelming the entire property.”
Of the 64 acres being added to the project site, only 10 or 14 will be purchased for the substation facility, all fenced in.
“When the energy here is created it will be going on to the grid, the lines run into New York where the power goes and is managed by utilities, we generate it here and it is used wherever it is deemed appropriate,” Gee said. “I had a wind project in Maine and power was sold in Chicago.”
Frontier Gas, who owns the mineral rights to the land, owns drilling rights but it currently does not operate in the area of the solar farm.
“We like the site because it does not have the solar panels wallpapered around the site, it could be spread around the 3,200 acres,” said Gee.
The Zoning Hearing Board unanimously approved the special request with conditions.
Projected benefits of Winner Solar equate to about 175 jobs in it’s construction, and an economic output upwards of $27 million. The site would be able to power up to 23,000 homes per year.
Current projects in development by Apex Clean Energy are Lumberjack Solar in Jefferson County, Peet Brook Solar in Potter County, Peet Brook Solar II in Potter County, West Branch Solar in Lycoming County, Zenith Wind in Potter and McKean Counties, and Swiftwater Solar in Monroe County.
The project timeline, subject to change, includes county and state permit submissions, reviews, and approvals occurring throughout 2025, the NYISO Interconnection Agreement execution in 2026, an anticipated start of construction in 2027, and the project operations date of 2028. Approximate construction would take 18 months.
Rob and Gena were in Renovo earlier this afternoon for a check presentation to the Greater Renovo Area Heritage Park where Apex Clean Energy donated $5,000 towards the mural project which will represent the history of lumbering in western Clinton County.
