BALTIMORE — An application by Rosehip Cleantech LLC for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to construct a 4 megawatt solar energy facility east of Princess Anne is now making its way through the approval process with the Maryland Public Service Commission.

The 20 acre site on the north side of West Post Office Road some 2,050 feet west of Petes Hill Road was previously the subject of a local public hearing by the Board of Zoning Appeals in April 2019 but was later withdrawn.

A pre-hearing conference was held online by the PSC on Feb. 6 with Kirk Simpkins attending on behalf of the Somerset County Commissioners. It can be viewed through the Public Utility Law Judge Division’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZVtOevvXuU.

Questions about the project may be sent to psx.pulj@gmail.com. The first public comment session will be virtual and held March 22. There will be a public hearing in Princess Anne on either July 19 or 20. Both meetings will be advertised.

The capital investment according to the applicants is $9 million if it includes an optional battery energy storage system (BESS) of 8 MW, or $7 million without it.

The property is zoned Agricultural Residential (AR) which permits solar energy installations through a floating zone process.

The limited liability company behind this project is represented by Baltimore attorney David Beugelmans of Gordon Feinblatt LLC, and also involved is Flonium Power LLC principal Mr. Sami Ayyorgun, PhD, of Fairfax, Va., who led this effort three years ago.

Copies of the application may be viewed online on the PSC website, case number 9684.