Millcreek, PA Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Millcreek Township Code § 145-69 is the solar section of the Zoning Ordinance. Subsection A(1) requires a Zoning Permit for installation, expansion, modification, alteration, or demolition of a Solar Energy System, and A(2) requires compliance with Chapter 145 and the Pennsylvania Construction Code. The Zoning Officer issues the permit under § 145-107. The application goes in on Township forms with the plans, documents and fees required, and for new construction or alterations the Zoning Permit application comes before the Building Permit application. Fees are set by resolution of the Board of Supervisors (§ 145-115).

For a Solar Energy System, Private, subsection D(1) says it cannot be constructed until a Principal Structure is constructed and a Building Permit is issued for the Solar Energy System. D(2) confines it to the Rear Yard or Side Yard, and D(3) counts the total surface area of a ground-mounted system toward Lot Coverage. D(4) requires a backup source of electricity during outages of the system.

Ground-mounted systems have their own standards. Arrays must be located no closer than seven feet from the Property Line, measured from the nearest Property Line to the edge of the nearest array. They must meet the district height limit, stay out of the required Front Yard Setback, and bury exterior electrical and plumbing lines below the surface in a conduit. Ground-mounted systems are not considered an Accessory Structure. Roof-mounted panels cannot extend more than three feet above the finished roof, cannot exceed the district maximum height and cannot extend beyond the edge of the roof.

Subsection A(8) deems any Solar Panel not in active and continuous service for one year Abandoned and requires removal to a place of safe and legal disposal. Solar Energy Utility Systems are a different tier: Conditional Use only, on lots of at least five acres in the CR District and in all Industrial Districts.