Lackawanna, N.Y. (WBEN) - The impact of the new Bethlehem Solar Park could have a deep impact on the City of Lackawanna.
The $6 million, privately-funded project, being developed by Bethlehem Solar Park - an affiliate of the Frontier Group of Cos. and Good Energy - will see a two-plus megawatt solar farm developed on a 10-acre parcel within the Steelworks Industrial Park along Route 5 in Lackawanna.
The solar farm is being developed on the site of where a 2016 fire destroyed and ravaged a number of buildings within the commercial park.
"It's about re-activating the site," said Lackawanna Mayor Annette Iafallo.
Iafallo says the construction of the solar farm, taken in context with the development of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency's Renaissance Commerce Park - just across Route 5 - gives Lackawanna a new gateway image with new buildings and tenants.
"People will see new developments and that presents a new image," Iafallo said.
The solar farm has been on the Frontier Group of Cos. development agenda for more than four years. Solar energy created by the farm will be available to qualified Lackawanna residents.
"It helps them and it helps us," Iafallo said.
Once completed by early 2026, the solar farm will generate enough power for, at least, 300 homes.