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Denver company withdraws proposal for Freehold solar farm
Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that a Denver company has withdrawn a proposal for a solar farm on the State Route 32 Freehold Flats. Stella Solar, under the name East Durham Solar, LLC, submitted a proposal on May 25 for a special use permit and site plan approval application to the Town of Greenville Planning Board for construction of a 493.8 kilowatt solar energy generating facility on 5.9 acres of a 42.2-acre parcel at 9139 State Route 32. Just over a month later, in an email to the Planning Board dated June 29, the company said it was not proceeding. “Our client, Stella Solar, very recently shared that due to various project obstacles, including equipment supply-chain issues, the project has been canceled and will not be moving forward,” wrote Carol Zimberlin, senior associate environmental scientist/project manager for Tetra Tech of Rochester. The story says that price increases and supply chain constraints have slowed the solar industry across the country recently. And most solar module manufacturers have halted shipments to the United States since the U.S. Department of Commerce opened an investigation into whether Chinese manufacturers are dodging U.S. duty rules on solar imports by funneling parts through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.