Mar 11, 2026 By Garrett Neese 3 min read

The Dunkard Township supervisors unanimously approved the application for a solar farm in Dilliner at its meeting Monday.

The 3.706-megawatt Aquatong Creek Solar Farm is planned to be located on nine acres of private property being leased off of Old Water Works Road.

A project packet prepared by consultants LaBella Associates said the solar farm will consist of rows of fixed-tilt photovoltaic solar modules, a gravel access drive, underground utilities, an equipment pad, utility interconnection equipment and stormwater control features.

Energy captured by the solar panels will be sold to WestPenn Power for use elsewhere on the grid, said Grace Sheaffer, associate project developer for distributed solar and storage with ENGIE North America, which is developing the solar farm.

Projected to have a 25-year lifespan, the farm will operate largely unmanned except for periodic site visits, according to ENGIE. The farm would connect to an existing 25-kilovolt line at Donley Junction about 0.7 miles north, according to a packet provided by the company.

In keeping with Dunkard Township’s solar ordinance, the modules will be around 12 feet high, short of the 18-foot maximum allowed, the ENGIE packet said. Landscaping and fencing will also surround the farm.

Supervisors voted 3-0 to approve the application for the project, which they said had not attracted any pushback from the community.

“We even talked to the people that live close to where this is, and they never complained to us at all,” said board Chairman Rodger Franks.

ENGIE had brought its interest in the solar farm to the township several months ago, Franks said, and that gave the township time to develop a solar ordinance to regulate the farms.

“They’ve been more than willing to comply with anything we’ve asked them,” he said.

That’s included setting a bond for 200% of the decommissioning cost, which will be determined by dollar values assessed by the township’s engineer on its first day and again three years later.

“When the decommissioning comes about, when and if it does, we don’t want it falling back on the township,” said board Co-Chairman Brian Gansor. “We want it solely 100% on them to have to clean this up.”

Sheaffer said there was potential for future developments elsewhere in the area.

“There’s possible developments, but nothing that far developed,” she said.

LaBella Associates have submitted applications with the Greene County Conservation District for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and erosion/sedimentation permits. A Highway Occupant Permit application will also be submitted before final land development approval, according to a packet prepared by LaBella.

With the Dunkard Township board’s approval of the application, a site plan and other land development items will be submitted to the Greene County Planning Commission.

Developers expect the project to begin construction next year, with completion targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.