NAPS Provides Technical Support to Planning Commission

The Northumberland County Planning Commission is currently updating zoning regulations to include photovoltaic solar installations. NAPS member, Lee Allain, has been requested by the Commission Chairman to provide technical support to this effort.

During the planning cycle, Mr. Allain will attend all Commission meetings and work with the County Planner, Stuart McKenzie, until regulations are in place to support this new technology. With his background as an electrical engineer and his personal experience in the solar energy field, Allain is well qualified to provide assistance. In fact, as part of recent NAPS STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) activity, he mentored a NAPS Solar Grant to our local high school. Under the grant, senior math students built a 120-watt solar panel that was subsequently used to charge students' cell-phones. He has also written articles on solar collection for residences and is well familiar with solar’s application from home use to utility-scale solar farms.

If you are interested in solar energy and its use and regulation within the county, look for a county advertisement of a Public Hearing to review the final draft of proposed regulations in area newspapers.