Location: Virtual

(BALTIMORE, MD) – Local residents and other interested members of the public are invited to comment on two proposals to construct community solar projects in different areas of Carroll County. The virtual hearings will take place on Tuesday, November 12 and Wednesday, November 13, 2024, each at 7 p.m., before Public Utility Law Judge Jennifer J. Grace.

In July 2024, Elk Development applied to the Maryland Public Service Commission for what is known as a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), which grants an applicant the authority to construct an energy-generating station or high-voltage transmission line in Maryland. According to the application, Elk Development's Cape Horn solar facility would be built on approximately 12 acres of a 35-acre property at the intersection of Cape Horn Road and Hampstead Mexico Road in Hampstead.

Those wishing to provide comments on November 12 at Cape Horn's (Hampstead) hearing should sign up in advance to speak by sending an email (referencing Case No. 9747) to psc.pulj@gmail.com by noon on November 8, 2024. Participants will receive an email with the link to join in on the virtual platform. 

In April 2024, Chaberton Solar Sunshine, LLC applied for a CPCN for its 3.0 MW community solar project, to be built on approximately 16.5 acres of a 125-acre property at 940 Fannie Dorsey Road, near the intersection of Fannie Dorsey Road and Sacramento Drive in Sykesville.

Those wishing to provide comments on November 13 at Chaberton Solar Sunshine's (Sykesville) hearing should sign up in advance to speak by sending an email (referencing Case No. 9735) to psc.pulj@gmail.com by noon on November 12, 2024. Participants will receive an email with the link to join in on the virtual platform. Recordings of each hearing will be available on the Public Utility Law Judge Division's YouTube channel (MD PSC PULJs): https://bit.ly/2X6wLiP

The hearings will include a presentation by the developer, followed by brief statements from the Power Plant Research Program of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, and the Commission’s Technical Staff, and then an opportunity for members of the public to comment on the proposed project. 

In addition to the hearings, written comments can be sent (by March 14, 2025 for the Cape Horn project) electronically through the Commission’s online portal at https://www.psc.state.md.us/make-a-public-comment/, or by mail. Comments sent by mail should be addressed to: Jamie Bergin, Chief Clerk, Maryland Public Service Commission, William Donald Schaefer Tower, 6 St. Paul Street, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202 (only one copy is required). So that they are noted in the proper case file, all comments should reference either Case No. 9747 (Cape Horn) or Case No. 9735 (Chaberton Solar Sunshine).

In addition to the online dockets, the Cape Horn project application is available for public review at the Carroll County Department of Land and Resource Management, 225 North Center Street in Westminster; the Chaberton Solar Sunshine project application can be reviewed at Sykesville Town Hall, 7547 Main Street in Sykesville. 

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