A proposal for a commercial solar power generation facility in Towamensing Township has stalled.

After a 2½-hour hearing, the township’s zoning hearing board on Monday denied a request from Bollinger Solar LLC during a public hearing.

The hearing, continued from July, was for Bollinger Solar seeking conditional use approval to construct a solar farm on two properties along Trachsville Hill Road. The land is currently owned by Matthew D. Frable and Stacy J. Frable.

The site is located in the RC-Rural Conservation zoning district, where Towamensing allows a solar farm only as a conditional use.

Bollinger Solar LLC had sought three variances, according to zoning hearing board solicitor Matthew Schnell.

Schnell said two were in regard to sloping on the property: One between 8% and 15%, they were looking for 52% instead of the limit of 40%. The other one was a 25% gradient or more, they were looking to develop 88 square feet.

The third, he said, was for the removal of trees and foliage on the property. The ordinance allows for up to 50% and they were looking for 92% with a proposal to plant trees to bring the total number of 50% forest to acreage.

Schnell said there will be a 45-day window for a written decision to come out, and a 30-day appeal from when the decision is sent to the applicant.

Bollinger Solar has been actively pursuing similar developments throughout the region.

In July, West Penn Township supervisors tabled a vote on the final on the final land development plan for Bollinger Solar’s proposed Ridge Road Solar project that calls for about 33,000 solar panels across 79 acres near the intersection of Ridge Road and Ash Circle.

The West Penn Township Planning Commission had previously recommended that supervisors grant conditional approval, pending comments from the Schuylkill County Planning Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. However, supervisors said they had concerns about the long-term responsibility for decommissioning the panels if the project reaches the end of its life, or if the company operating it goes out of business.

In Franklin Township, supervisors in August 2024 granted two waiver requests submitted by Bollinger Solar for a solar farm at 208 Memorial Drive for a project that involves 8,000 solar panels on roughly 9 acres. Conditional land development plan approval was granted at that time.