Solar farm rep fields questions about proposal

McCOOK, Neb. – The McCook Planning Commission heard a request Monday night from a company that wants to build a solar farm within the area outside the city limits but still controlled by city zoning.

McCook Solar LLC, one of two companies proposing solar farms, is requesting a special exemption for an alternative energy project, an allowable special exception, within McCook's extraterritorial jurisdiction territory.

Fielding questions in a packed City Council chamber Monday night was Brice Barton of 39 North, based out of Colby, Kan., hired by Birch Creek Development for the solar project planned northwest of McCook.

Asked whether the project would be built without a Power Purchase Agreement, Barton said that would be very unlikely due to the fact that they would have millions of dollars invested and that would be a huge risk to build without the PPA, and that is one of the next steps to get the power sold.

Another question about the PPA, was about the Nameplate Capacity Tax and if that stays with the county and if they would get that on top of the Property Tax. Barton said “yes they would have to pay the tax” of $3,518 (Per the Nebraska, Center for Rural Affairs site) “so you are looking at about $2.4 thousand plus the property tax from the landowners. That tax follows the mill levy so, whoever gets that money now will get the next tax revenue.

David Levy wrote the memo on the tax, and he was able to explain “if your schools get 60% of the Real Property Tax they will get 60% of the Nameplate Capacity Tax."

Nameplate Capacity Tax = $3,518 x Mega Watt = $197,008 per year

Real Property Tax= approximately $482 x 56 Mega Watt = approximately $ 26,992 per year

Total Property Tax = $197,008 nameplate capacity tax + approximately $26,992 real property tax = Approximately $224,000 per year.

The Breakdown have that the annual tax received approximate totals looked like this:

Red Willow County ... $44,428

School District...#17$155,323

Mid-Plains Community College ... $11,284

Educational Service Unit #15 ... $2,165

High Plains Historical Society ... $245

Natural Resource District ...$5,069

Western Fire District ...$5,489

Asked about stormwater runoff, Barton said that they are required by the stormwater prevention plan to keep the detention rate the same. “We can not increase or decrease the runoff in the project.”

The decommissioning of the project was questioned and the commission asked Barton to go into specifics on how they do this. Barton explained that there is little to no concrete used in these projects, that the posts are driven into the ground, you will have some concrete at the substation and the grounding grid, and some underground wire.

When they are all done they would remove the panels, pull those posts out and remove the concrete. “The site will have native grass approved by your local conservation district”, so there won’t be a ton of rehab. The goal is to recycle as much as they can. So they would hire a company to come in and take the panels to refurbish or recycle them, however, if they can’t then they would have to dispose of the per federal law, and that isn’t something that would be done locally. The expectation for the site is to last 40 years per the contract they have with the landowners.

The substation that they are proposing to go into is part of the Southwest Power Pool.

That is part of an interconnection network with pools with ND, SD, Neb, Oka, Kan, Ark, Texas, and Miss. So they could sell to anyone in that area throughout that substation. Birch Creek would be responsible for any upgrades that need to be done to the substation if they interconnect.

Another company, Premier Energy, has proposed a solar farm farther west of McCook, but that is outside the city's zone of control. Red Willow County commissioners recently extended a moratorium on alternative energy projects until county zoning rules can be updated.