Harvey Solar works diligently to provide accurate, well-vetted information about solar, the Project, and its potential impacts on the Hartford Township community. Internet sources, whether research publications, periodicals, or social media must be carefully reviewed for accuracy. The information below is intended to respond to many of the concerns and statements shared online and on social media. Harvey Solar believes it is important to address these statements and provide factual clarity to the community.

Common Incorrect Statements Regarding Noise

You may read online or hear in your community similar inaccurate statements regarding noise.

Construction “will include continuous drilling . . . .”

“The inverters will be running for more than 12 hours each day to harness the electricity.”

“The metal joints of the solar panels' moving apparatus may also break down due to weather or daily wear, causing a grinding noise.”

“Maintenance vehicles may also regularly visit these sites, causing extra noise and more than usual traffic.”

FACTS AND CREDIBLE SOURCES

Construction noise will be inconvenient at times, but operational noise will be minimal.  Construction noise will be minimized by Harvey Solar’s minimum setback of 300 feet from homes (the length of a football field) and use of other construction best practices (such as limiting the hours of construction).  

The metal piles that will hold up the solar panels will be driven into the ground to a depth of about 10 feet using a small pile driver, but the activity will not be continuous and not last a long time in any particular location. One video/audio of this type of pile driver being circulated on-line was made only a few feet from the machine, but noise diminishes rapidly with distance, so it will be much quieter outside the project area than the video/audio suggests.    

Because they have relatively few moving parts, solar facilities operate with minimal noise. Some of the equipment makes a modest amount of sound (for example, the central inverters located about every 20 acres), but the sound generally cannot be heard outside the fence.  The central inverters at Harvey Solar will be located at least 500 feet from any home of a person not participating in the project.[1]  Expert sound modeling submitted as part of the project’s permit application demonstrates that, at this distance, the inverters will not cause problems.[2]   Even if one did cause an issue, it could readily be retrofitted to eliminate any bothersome noise.  Additionally, as a condition of licensing for all solar projects, OPSB imposes limits to operating noise impacts from solar inverters.[3]

The Harvey Solar team has been around operating solar facilities for years and has never experienced or even heard of anyone noticing a so-called “droning sound” at sunset or a “grinding noise” of broken trackers that the website claims (without evidence) will occur.

Harvey Solar will not have any offices, and the occasional vehicle traffic for its operations (to conduct equipment inspections, grass maintenance, etc.) will be insignificant – on the order of having 2 or 3 new houses in the area.

Resources:

[1] Application for a Certificate of Compatibility and Public Need by Harvey Solar I, LLC, OPSB Case No, 21-0164-EL-BGN, Section VII.A.3, available at: http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/TiffToPDf/A1001001A21H06A91409E00537.pdf

[2] Epsilon Associates, Inc., Sound Level Assessment Report, Exhibit L to Application, p. 1-1,  OPSB Case No. 21-0164-EL-BGN, available at: available at: http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/TiffToPDf/A1001001A21H06B00751B00574.pdf

[3] Opinion, Order and Certificate, OPSB Case No. 20-1288-EL-BGN, Section VII.(14), available at: http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/TiffToPDf/A1001001A21C18B40239E01280.pdf