Snapshot
Project name: Goonies Solar
Law: Inflation Reduction Act
Investment amount: $250,000,000
City: Jersey Shore, Nippenose Township, Lycoming County
State: Pennsylvania
Congressional district: 15
Construction start date: 2023
This profile is part of a project that finds and tracks the public and private sector investments generated or supported by three of the Biden administration’s economic laws. These laws make investments in the American people, helping to grow the middle class, lowering the cost of living, and setting up America to better compete and cooperate in the world. Pulling directly from several sources, this catalog provides users with publicly available information such as the number of jobs created, workforce training partnerships, and storytellers benefiting from particular projects, among other detailed information. The profile below expands on the economic, practical, and climate impacts of just one of the 35,000 investments that can be found in the Biden Administration Investment Tracker. It may be updated to account for future project developments.
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Doral Renewables LLC is investing $250,000,000 to develop a new solar engineering design that will provide 33,000 households in Pennsylvania with energy and electric power. Because the area designated for the solar farm exists in a flood zone, some of the land is currently used as a buffer zone. The new design will help increase the amount of productive land. The Goonies Solar Farm will be one of the largest solar farms in Pennsylvania.
Historical context
- “The 1,100-acre solar farm is full of pesky rocks some of the farmers call ‘Goonies,’ and has been used for agriculture despite being in a flood zone. The farm is also located nearby a historic tribal settlement.” – Doral Renewables LLC, last accessed July 2023
Project summary
- “Goonies Solar (Doral Renewables) will invest $250 million into new solar engineering designs, generating 200 Megawatts of clean, renewable electric power, enough to serve 33,000 Pennsylvania households annually.” – The White House, March 2023
- “The privately funded Goonies Solar project is one of the first projects developed by Doral Renewables and will generate 194 megawatts of clean, renewable electric power, enough to serve 23,000 households annually. … 100% of the project has signed Power Purchase Agreements.” – Doral Renewables LLC, last accessed July 2023
- “$250 million, privately funded Goonies Solar project is one of the first projects developed by Doral and will generate 200 Megawatts of clean, renewable electric power, enough to serve 33,000 Pennsylvania Households annually. Some of the project’s landowners still remember Hurricane Agnes in 1972 when the fields were flooded. Our solar farm, using flood-proof solar engineering designs, boosts the tax base of what are now lower-value farmlands.” – Doral Renewables LLC, September 29, 2022
- “Only 650 acres will be used as the solar field with the remaining acreage acting as a buffer. There are also wetlands on the property that can’t be used.” – Williamsport Sun-Gazette, September 29, 2022
Outcomes, improvements, and practical impact
- “Around 200 megawatts of power is expected to be generated by the field. The plan is to sell this electricity to the power grid.” – Williamsport Sun-Gazette, September 29, 2022
- “This project, being one of the largest solar farms in Pennsylvania, will make a significant contribution to Pennsylvania’s renewable energy portfolio, enabling local utilities, commerce and industry to procure power generated in Lycoming County that would otherwise be generated in neighboring counties.” – Doral Renewables LLC, last accessed July 2023
Climate impact
- “Solar energy is the only form of renewable energy that is mandated by state law to be produced in-state to qualify for certain policy advantages. It keeps the jobs and investment in-state. Pennsylvania passed Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards in 2004, requiring electricity providers to supply 18 percent of their energy sales from alternative energy sources by 2021. According to the state’s Public Utility Commission, the percentage of renewable energy in Pennsylvania’s generation portfolio currently stands at 15.2 percent. More solar facilities are needed to meet the portfolio standards both now and in the future.” – Doral Renewables LLC, September 29, 2022
- “’Because a good portion of the project is located in the floodway and floodplain of the Susquehanna River, a permit application has been submitted in order to locate the solar farm at that site. ‘Basically, when you put something in a floodway or floodplain, it’s called an obstacle and you have to make up for that,’ said Todd Stager, associate vice president with Pennoni Associates, a construction engineering firm working on the project. In order to not raise the water surface elevation, dirt will be removed from the property to compensate for the space which the posts or columns supporting the solar panels occupy in order to not increase the floodwater on the river.” – Williamsport Sun-Gazette, September 29, 2022
Economic impact
- “[Renewable energy] serves as a good incentive for large modern companies, such as data centers and advanced manufacturers, to bring jobs to Lycoming County.” – Doral Renewables LLC, last accessed July 2023
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