The Portsmouth Zoning Board of Review will hear a new application for an 18-acre solar farm off West Main Road. The mostly wooded property is on the east side of the road, across from Melville Elementary School, and nestled between residential areas along West Passage Drive, Sweet Farm Road and Chelsea Drive.

The zoning board meeting on Aug. 16 will include the application of Boston-based renewable energy project developer Kearsarge Energy, which seeks a Special Use Permit and Dimensional Variance for their proposed 4.8-megawatt solar photovoltaic development on land owned by Allen Shers at 1330 West Main Road.

In order to prep the site for the estimated 13,200 photovoltaic modules needed for the solar array, trees within the project boundary will be cut and either chipped in place or removed entirely. Additional vegetation found on the site will also be stripped away.

While most trees residing within the zoning setback areas would remain untouched, serving to shield the site from view, some trimming may occur to allot for the necessary amount of sunlight needed for the development’s optimal performance.

Construction, expected to last three to six months, would involve not only the removal of trees and other plants but also the installation of erosion and sediment control devices, equipment tracking pads, electrical conduits, concrete ballast blocks, grounding plates, a seven-foot chain-link fence and a 30-foot gravel driveway accessible from the western side of the site.

Following its completion, the site will be loamed and seeded, helping to regulate the stormwater discharge flowing naturally toward the western border. With no wetlands on site and existing vegetated buffers present, the project meets the requirements set by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Stormwater Manual. Traffic is not anticipated to increase, with only minimal maintenance expected to be necessary moving forward.

Should Kearsage Energy be granted the necessary permits and approval for the project to move forward, construction of the site could begin as early as December. Throughout its 25-year life span, the solar photovoltaic development would be expected to offset 95,384 metric tons of carbon dioxide, 10,730,000 gallons of gasoline or power roughly 9,900 average U.S. homes per year.

The Zoning Board of Review meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. next Thursday, Aug. 16, at the Town Hall at 2200 East Main Road.