By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Joint Ellis County Planning Commission advanced a $275 million solar project at its meeting on Monday.
The commission unanimously voted to move consideration of a conditional-use permit for the solar development in southwest Ellis County to the Ellis County Commission.
The land on which the solar project would be built is zoned agricultural.
The county commission will likely consider the permit request at its Jan. 6 meeting. A 14-day protest period will end on Dec. 31.
Developer ibV of Florida presented to a packed audience of about 75 people, with those both for and against the project in attendance.
IbV answered a litany of questions about the project, which would generate 175MW of power for the Southwest Power Pool energy market, connecting via Midwest Energy at the 345-kilovolt Spearville-Post Rock.
The facility will include 600- to 700-W panels mounted on a tracking system to follow the sun throughout the day. The maximum height of the panels will be about 12 feet.
The facility will have no battery storage on site.
One audience member asked if there was capacity in the line to receive the additional power.
The ibV team said they have been in the analysis process for several years, and yes, there is capacity in the line.
Rep. Barb Wasinger, R-Hays, asked if ibV had an agreement yet to sell the power; Robin Saiz, ibV vice president, said no. He said that is one of the next steps in the process, but an agreement has not yet been reached.
Wasinger also asked if the power would stay in Kansas.
Saiz said the electricity will take the path of least resistance. He likened the power grid to a swimming pool. If you dump water into the pool, it raises the pool's level. If you jump in the pool, you don't know whether the water touching your body came from the specific water you just added.
He said the new solar project will increase the reliability of the whole grid, including for local users.
He said the Southwest Power Pool has recently planned to expand into Colorado, which occurred after ibV started planning this project.
He said he could not guarantee the power would remain in Kansas.
The project's total acreage is about 1,829 acres, according to the ibV report submitted to the planning commission. It would be at 170th and Mount Pleasant. The Tallgrass Project, as ibV has named it, will be built across multiple parcels, about 7 miles southwest of Hays and 9 miles southeast of Ellis.
Steven Link, senior project developer, said the company chose Ellis County because there is demand for energy in this region, there is a tie-in point for the project and the location offers relatively flat land in a rural setting.
"We are trying to inject a different type of energy on [the grid] besides oil production, not replace it," Link said.
Strategic Economic Research conducted an economic impact study for ibV, estimating 148 new jobs would be created locally during construction and 17 in the long term.
The research firm estimated $10.2 million in local earnings would be created during construction, with almost $1 million in annual long-term local earnings in Ellis County.
The project could net as much as $25.9 million in property tax revenue across the taxing entities during the estimated 35-year life of the project, according to the research firm.
IbV is estimated construction on the project will begin in 2027, with about 18 months until completion in 2028.
ibV requested up to three years to begin construction because they anticipated potential supply chain issues with some high-voltage equipment. County regulations require construction to begin within a year, with an option for a one-year extension.
Water, infrastructure
Link said ibV will be responsible for the infrastructure necessary to support the project. This includes roads and water. ibV will establish an escrow account with expenses paid to the county for road work that might be needed.
The ibV representatives said they do not intend to tap into rural water at this time.
Link said the project anticipated using pond water or accessing water from another place. Link said the solar panels could be dry mopped.
Once the project is complete, the ibV representatives anticipate using 250 gallons of potable water per day at the site. That is to service the site's operations and maintenance building, which three people will staff. The water usage will be for the building's bathroom and kitchenette.
Keith Pfannenstiel, local resident, expressed concern about the facility's water use. He asserted the company had not accounted for its water usage.
He said he tried to speak at the last meeting of the rural water district but was not allowed to by Amy Befort, who is also one of the landowners leasing their land to ibV.
He alleged a conflict of interest. Pfannenstiel said he was going to file a complaint with the Ellis County Attorney.
Befort denied the allegation. She said her family's lease agreement with the ibV included no water rights. She said her property has the only rural water meter near the project, and it is certified for residential and livestock use only.
Befort said she has placed Pfannenstiel on the next rural water board meeting agenda. She alleged Pfannetiel had spread misinformation that the solar project would use rural water.
Pfannenstiel expressed concerns the solar panels could break and pollute groundwater. However, Befort noted solar panels, including those installed by Pfannenstiel, had been used for years to power water-well pumps and oil pumps in the area.
No one had expressed concerns about pollution before, she said.
"Some people are afraid of change," she said. "They are afraid of progress. I want you to seriously ask yourself, where would society be today without change or progress? Renewable enregy, solar energy is progress.
"This solar project has the capability to be a vital part of our community's future by bringing in millions of dollars in tax revenue and providing community projects supported by ibV energy.
"Please, I ask you, don't allow a minority of uninformed people to stop progress and deny the people of Ellis County the many benefits of this solar project," Befort said.
Storm damage, hail
Local resident Mike Werth and others asked about the potential for hail damage.
The solar panels are made of thick glass and silicone. The panels are rated to withstand winds up to 110 mph and hail of up to 90 mm, the ibV team said.
The facility will also carry insurance.
IbV was asked what would happen if a tornado or hailstorm wiped out the facility.
Saiz said ibV will have a decommission plan backed by a bond.
However, he said it would be in the best interests of ibV and its investors to rebuild so that it could maximize its return on investment.
Patrick Ripa, ibV executive director of planning and engineering, said the panels are also designed to be able to tilt to prevent damage.
The panels can be laid flat in the event of a wind storm. They can be tilted vertically during hail to minimize exposed surface area and tilted at an angle during snowfall to discourage accumulation on the panels.
Weather stations, which will be monitored 24/7, will be placed throughout the facility, the ibV team said.
Fire response
Nathan Casper, who lives on Mount Pleasant Road and would be a neighbor to the facility, said the pasture in which the solar project would be built has had two wildfires in the last several years.
He said a neighbor extinguished those fires. The rural fire department didn't make it to the site in time.
He expressed concern about his home and asked about the possibility of soil contamination if the solar panels were damaged in a fire.
Link said the grass at the facility will be mowed or grazed by sheep to 12 inches or less underneath the solar panels.
The site will be monitored by staff onsite as well as 24/7 remote monitoring, and Saiz said the company is very proactive in preventive maintenance.
The ibV team said they will meet with local emergency responders to develop an emergency preparedness plan for the solar project.
Regulatory requirements
IbV has designed its facility to meet all Ellis County setback requirements.
The planning commission, as a condition of the conditional use permit, also required ibV to meet all state and federal permit requirements for a solar facility, including the EPA and the Clean Water Act.
Decommissioning
IbV is leasing the land on which the solar panels will sit. Once the panels are decommissioned in about 35 years, the land will revert to the landowners.
ibV will have a plan and bond in place to decommission the facility at the end of its lifetime.
A licensed third party is creating the decommissioning plan. Having that plan in place is a condition of the company's permit.
Link said the panels will not sit on concrete pads, but will be supported through steel pillars.
The decommission plan includes returning the land as close as possible to its original state.
Saiz said long-term research by several U.S. universities has indicated land on which solar panels sit rebounds well after they are removed because the land has been lying fallow for several decades.
If there is disruption of the soil during decommissioning, the land would be reseeded in native grass, the ibV team said.
Cost
Local resident Mike Werth questioned the degree to which the project was being subsidized by the government.
"I know county, city, all municipalities are grasping for any little tax dollar they can get," Werth said. "I understand that, but at what cost?"
Ripa said the project is being privately funded, but all energy projects are subsidized, renewable and nonrenewable. All of their competitors are subsidized. He did not disclose the amount of the subsidy.
He said in many parts of the world, solar is the cheapest form of energy and is a renewable source. The efficiency of the panels has increased by 40 to 50% during the last five to seven years.
IbV is finaced through a larger international group, ib vogt GmbH of Germany.
Local resident Curt Staab said he supported the project and the income it would bring to the county.
"Revenue from a new tax stream is a really good thing for the county. We are always needing more money to keep up roads, schools, and so on," he said.
Big Creek Estates
The planning commission also recommended approval of the Big Creek Estates 3rd Addition preliminary plat. That addition, which Adam Pray is developing, will include lots for 14 new homes.