After two hours of tense discussion, the Dover Township Zoning Hearing Board advanced toward a vote next month on what could be the community's second solar farm.

As happened for a three-hour board meeting in February, Mechanicsburg-based Solar Renewable Energy's application drew a tremendous turnout from residents.

The ultimate decision, which could allow a solar farm on land previously zoned for agricultural use, would be just the first step in a longer planning process for the proposed 10,500-panel solar facility at 5370 Harmony Grove Road.

"This is just the zoning process — they still have to go through land development," said John McLucas, the township's zoning officer. He noted that the township still needs to receive a land development plan for the project.

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While the request is for another solar farm, it is not the same as the Enel Green Power farm approved by the Zoning Hearing Board last year after several months of debate from supporters and opponents alike. This project, unlike Enel Green Power's, does not have a substation.

The project would be monitored remotely and only see activity approximately three times a year, said Steve Crimmel, SRE's sales director. That includes an annual inspection and mowing of slow and low-growing grass. The project would be surrounded by an 8-foot-tall chain link fence and be screened by native plants.

Crimmel said the array would likely power about 700 homes across utility company Met-Ed's network.

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"There's no direct line here to you, and it's kind of like water going through a pipe. It gets routed off to different people," he said. "There's big effort towards renewables, but I can tell you it's not a direct benefit to your house or your neighbor's house, but it's an overall reduction of the cost in a small way."

Residents who live near the proposed solar farm property presented questions and testimony largely opposed to the farm. Concerns included environmental pollutants, noise pollution and what measures the company will take to obscure the farm's fence from nearby properties.

Susan Hamburger, who lives on Schoolhouse Road less than a mile from the proposed farm, presented a list of questions for SRE. Among them was how the panels would be disposed of when they were no longer useable.

"My understanding is that after a certain number of years, they get rid of them and they are thrown in dumps, and then the toxic wastes from them is worse than any kind of ecological benefit there might be," Hamburger said.

The panel lifespan is about 30 years, but they will likely be in place for 40 years, Crimmel said. The panels wouldn't be thrown in a landfill but recycled, he said. The panels are made up of 80% aluminum and glass.

In terms of toxic byproducts, the only toxic substance is a small amount of lead in the soldering around the terminals, he added.

Hamburger asked if SRE has any concerns that the lead from the 10,000 or so panels could leak into the ground. Crimmel said there is about a drop of lead in the soldering and that it is tightly sealed inside a box so it can't leak out if it rains or disseminate into the ground.

Gina Myers, an alternate on the Dover Township Zoning Hearing Board, then asked for more specifics about the size and number of inverters that would be needed and if the hum from them would be audible for neighbors.

Inverters are the piece of technology that turn electricity generated by the panels into alternating current electricity, which is what goes into power grids, according to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Crimmel didn't know the number of inverters needed but said he could look into it. Similarly, Crimmel said he wasn't entirely sure how loud the inverter hum was in decibels, but said generally it is very quiet.

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Myers read aloud the fire safety measures from a solar panel data sheet SRE had given the township. She asked Crimmel if the items listing what should be used to put out fires and the information given to local fire departments lined up with his general knowledge on the issue.

Crimmel said the recommendations did.

He also noted that none of SRE's solar farms have ever had a fire. The only issues with damage they've had has been natural wear and occasionally a kid throwing rocks at a panel. Both were minor issues that can be easily fixed, he said.

When asked what happens if there is damage to the panel and how the company is alerted to it, Crimmel explained there are two systems monitoring a solar farm. If a panel is underperforming, an alert is issued to monitors in the office and even to his own phone. After an alert is sent, someone would go out to the site and assess the damage.

Hamburger also spoke during the testimony portion of the meeting. Myers asked her to repeat a question Hamburger brought up earlier in the meeting, that township ordinances require the solar farm to be on 25 contiguous — meaning unbroken — acres. She pointed out that a public road runs though the property and asked the board if the property is still eligible.

The attorney for SRE, Claudia Shank, said the legal definition of contiguous generally allowed for public roads to run through a property. Michael Craley, the township solicitor, said the question of definition was legitimate and would have to be discussed further.

Several residents, including horse farm owner Joe Heffelfinger, spoke in favor of the project.

"Assuming that there's no effect to my horses and just my wellbeing, all we would just ask for is just basically communication," he said.

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After testimony from residents, board chair Jane Ginter announced that a vote on the special exception for the site would be held at the next meeting on April 19. The April meeting will likely be held at the 7 p.m. again and the location will be determined and posted online ahead of time. Meeting dates and agendas can be found at https://www.dovertownship.org/boards/zoning-hearing-board/.

— Reach Noel Miller at NMiller3@yorkdispatch.com or via Twitter at @TheNoelM.