{"id":237096,"date":"2026-07-06T23:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T23:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/237096\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T23:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T23:42:08","slug":"judge-upholds-ransom-twp-s-denial-of-proposed-solar-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/237096\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge upholds Ransom Twp.’s denial of proposed solar farm"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Lackawanna County judge agreed with Ransom Twp.\u2019s decision denying a developer\u2019s plans for a solar farm that residents opposed.<\/p>\n

Judge Terrence Nealon denied Pivot Energy\u2019s appeal in a ruling handed down last week.<\/p>\n

The supervisors denied the Denver-based company\u2019s conditional use request<\/a> to build 6,550 solar modules on 18 acres of a nearly 300-acre township-owned parcel at Ransom and Lower Narrows roads last year. Residents opposed the proposed solar farm, concerned about its impact on the township\u2019s character, their property values, the environment and wildlife.<\/p>\n

Attorneys Richard Williams and Tara Giarratano appealed the decision<\/a> in Lackawanna County Court shortly after the supervisors\u2019 decision, arguing the township and those who objected to the project didn\u2019t present evidence that Pivot didn\u2019t meet the requirements in the zoning ordinance for the proposed conditional use and that the property\u2019s use as a solar farm would substantially affect the community\u2019s health, safety and welfare. They also said the applicant must only prove compliance with specific objective criteria set in the zoning ordinance, the attorneys said.\n<\/p>\n

Nealon wrote in his ruling the developer\u2019s studies didn\u2019t take into account how the anticipated glare from the array would affect neighboring properties. Residents also provided credible testimony that the proposed solar farm would negatively impact the rural area, property values and local wildlife, which the board took as proof that public health, welfare and convenience would not be protected by the farm\u2019s construction.<\/p>\n

The judge pointed out that Pivot\u2019s glare analysis was confined to \u201cfour structures directly \u2026 adjacent to the property\u201d and did not consider or examine \u201cany of the properties further away that could, possibly, be in the path of the glare\u201d because it believed \u201cthe farther you move away from the project, the potential for glare decreases\u201d \u2014 which goes against state zoning laws that require such studies take into account all properties that could be affected by the proposed project.<\/p>\n

In addition, there is sufficient evidence to support the board\u2019s determination that public welfare and convenience will not be protected by the proposed solar energy facility, it will cause \u201csubstantial injury\u201d to other properties in the neighborhood and it isn\u2019t compatible with adjoining development, Nealon wrote. He ruled the board didn\u2019t abuse its discretion or commit an error of law when it denied the application.<\/p>\n

Pivot Energy officials said in a lengthy statement Monday that while they are disappointed with the ruling, they respect the court\u2019s role in reviewing local land-use decisions and believe responsibly developed solar projects can provide meaningful benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe company is committed to sustainable land management practices and the preservation of agricultural communities,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n

Pivot officials defended their project, saying they presented evidence showing that the proposed facility complied with the township\u2019s zoning ordinance, including civil engineering review, environmental assessment, geospatial and glare analysis, and acoustical modeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cPivot also believes this case raises important questions about private property rights and the ability of landowners to make lawful, productive use of their property when an applicant has satisfied the requirements established by the local ordinance. In Pivot\u2019s view, the record showed that the company met the obligations required for consideration of its application. While residents expressed concerns throughout the process, Pivot believes the technical record demonstrates that the project satisfied the ordinance standards,\u201d they said in the statement.<\/p>\n

Efforts to reach representatives for the township for comment about the decision were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

Nealon\u2019s ruling is the latest to uphold an Abingtons township\u2019s decision denying a controversial solar farm. Late last year, he upheld Newton Twp.\u2019s denial<\/a> of Newton Solar 1 LLC\u2019s plans to build nearly 12,000 solar panels on the 59-acre property on Hillside Drive in that township.\n<\/p>\n

Supervisors rejected the plans in 2024 by New Leaf Energy, the Massachusetts-based company doing business as Newton Solar 1 LLC, and Borrego Solar Systems Inc. of Oakland, California. The developer appealed shortly afterward.<\/p>\n

Nealon ruled the developer did not establish that the township supervisors erred or abused their discretion when they denied the plans.<\/p>\n

He noted the similarities with the Newton Twp. case in his most recent ruling, pointing out that in both instances residents presented credible evidence that the proposed solar farm would be detrimental to the character of the rural area in which they were proposed, and affect area wildlife and migration patterns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Lackawanna County judge agreed with Ransom Twp.\u2019s decision denying a developer\u2019s plans for a solar farm that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[46,201,182,139,28,4373,178,180,179,181],"class_list":["post-237096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-courts","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-ransom-township","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}