By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Ellis County Joint Planning Commission will conduct a hearing on a permit for a $275 million commercial solar utility on Wednesday night.
IbV Energy Partners is proposing a 175MW commercial solar development at 179th and Mount Pleasant. The Tallgrass project will be located across multiple parcels, about 7 miles southwest of Hays and 9 miles southeast of Ellis.
The project's total acreage is about 1,829 acres, according to the ibV report submitted to the planning commission.
The project will supply electricity to the Southwest Power Pool energy market, connecting via Midwest Energy at the 345-kilovolt Spearville-Post Rock, according to ibV.
The Project will generate enough electricity to power more than 30,000 Kansan homes emission-free, according to the IbV report.
Strategic Economic Research developed an economic impact study for ibV, estimating that 148 new jobs would be created locally during construction and 17 new jobs would be created 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.
The U.S. headquarters of ibV Energy Partners is in Florida, but the company is part of a larger international group, ib vogt GmbH of Germany. That group is majority-owned by DIF Capital Partners, an international fund manager with about $18 billion in assets.
IbV works with power wholesalers and corporations on clean energy goals, according to its website. The company is active in 26 states.
The land on which the solar project would be built is zoned agricultural. IbV is seeking a conditional-use permit to proceed with the project.
Construction of the Tallgrass project is tentatively scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026 and last for 18 months.
However, Tallgrass is seeking a three-year conditional-use permit, with a one-time one-year extension in the event of supply-chain issues, according to its report.
IbV, in its request, also said it would develop a decommissioning and resurfacing plan before construction begins.
The Joint Planning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the county commission chambers in the basement of the administration center.
The meeting will be open to the public, and there will be an opportunity for public comment.
The commission will vote on a recommendation for the Ellis County Commission. That will be followed by a 14-day protest period.
Justin Craig, Ellis County environmental services director, said he anticipates the conditional-use permit will come before the Ellis County Commission at its meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6.