West Penn Township supervisors denied a request from applicants planning to install a solar farm in the township.

The request, from the Gregory and Jodi Duschak Solar Energy Collection Land Development, asked that supervisors waive a requirement in the preliminary plan submission process.

After some discussion, supervisors unanimously turned down the request.

The denial doesn’t mean the end of the project, said Solicitor Paul Datte at Monday’s supervisors meeting.

“This is not plan approval. They just want to waive the requirement for a preliminary plan so they can file a combined preliminary plan,” Solicitor Paul Datte said.

According to supervisors’ Chairman Tony Prudenti, the applicants plan to install the solar park on 34 acres near the intersection of Ash Circle and Ridge Road.

The property is private and zoned for agricultural use, he said.

Preliminary plans show 63 rows of panels, which would not be installed directly into the ground. The application does not call for concrete pads for installation.

Prudenti said he had concerns about what would happen when the panels were no longer needed.

Solicitor Paul Datte said that he’s learned that municipalities dealing with similar solar projects are considering putting decommissioning agreements in place.

The plan has not yet been considered by Schuylkill County Planning Commission or the Schuylkill Conservation District.

The West Penn Township Planning Commission recently reviewed plan details.