Residents in rural western Pennsylvania township say proposed solar farm would ruin their views

GEORGES TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) — A proposal to build a solar farm in Fayette County is causing misery for residents who live near the site.

Residents in Georges Township are angry after being told less than two months ago that an 88-acre solar farm could be built across the rural fields surrounding their homes and ultimately disrupt their serene and quiet lifestyles.

"It will surround my property," Georges Township resident Riley Lampe said. "We just built this home. It's going to be right in my backyard."

The project entails the installation of industrial-scale solar panels, which will create a sea of black panels to the front, side and rear of residents' homes.

In addition to the aesthetics, residents say the solar farm will decrease the value of their homes and endanger wildlife with 8-foot-tall barbed wire fencing.

While the benefits of solar energy are undeniable to a sustainable future, residents said a solar farm does not belong close to a residential area and believe this proposed project can find a new home elsewhere.

"It doesn't make sense economically," resident Ryan Robinson said. "It doesn't make sense for the people. It doesn't make sense for the families who live here. And it has to be in the right place."

"There's too much area out here where they could put it away and not in somebody's backyard," supervisor John Hicks said.

"We're here for our residents," supervisor Darrell Trifiro said. "They don't want it in their backyard. We are here to support them."

There is a public meeting on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Fayette County Housing Building.