By TONY GUERRERO and CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Ellis County Commission will consider a conditional-use permit on Tuesday for a $275 million solar project in southwest Ellis County.
The land on which the solar project would be built is zoned agricultural.
The protest petition deadline for the permit was Wednesday. As of the filing of the county commission agenda, six protest petitions had been filed. Any additional petitions that were received by the deadline will be added to the commissioner's packet before Tuesday.
Developer ibV of Florida wants to build a facility that 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 on-site battery storage.
Many of the attendees at the public hearing asked questions about environmental effects and safety.
The project could have a significant effect on the local economy and generate substantial tax revenue.
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 that construction on the project will begin in 2027, with about 18 months until completion in 2028.
Big Creek Estates 3rd Addition
The Ellis County Commission will take action on the preliminary plat for Big Creek Third Addition, a proposed residential subdivision located north of Reservation Road.
The development proposed by Adam Pray would include 14 residential lots and one stormwater retention lot. A public hearing was held on Dec. 17, and the Joint Ellis County Planning Commission approved the preliminary plat.
The proposed lots vary in size from about 12,200 to 25,500.
Other business
The Ellis County District Court will seek approval to transfer $9,600 from opioid settlement funds to purchase a one-year license for a phone application that would be used to monitor up to 30 individuals released on supervised bond.
The commission will be asked to approve a resolution formally establishing weight limits on certain county-maintained bridges.
You can view the full agenda here.