By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
A sprawling solar field is being planned in Wood County – five times larger than Bowling Green’s solar project northeast of the city.
The Wood County Commissioners listened to a proposal Thursday from 7X Energy, which has about 600 acres under contract west of Weston. The proposed solar farm would cover land currently farmed, and would produce about 101 MW of power – compared to the 20 MW generated at the Bowling Green solar site.
“We are a team that has pretty significant experience in solar projects,” said 7X Energy representative Cliff Scher in a virtual meeting with the county commissioners. The company, based in Austin, Texas, specializes in utility-scale solar projects and currently has fields generating a total of 1,700 MW.
The firm, which has been in business three years, has four projects in the works in Ohio.
The project outside Weston has been dubbed the Juliet Energy Project. The map of the site showed a large circle on farmland west of the village – but no specifics were given about the location.
If all goes as planned, including the securing of a power purchase agreement, construction could begin on the solar field in 2022, Scher said.
The solar panels at the site would tilt to follow the sun during the day, and possibly have solar units on both sides of the panels. In August, a meteorological station to measure sunshine was installed on the acreage being considered. Further testing is being done to determine the sunshine in the winter months, Scher said.
“We make sure we can generate as much electricity as possible during the day,” Scher said. “We make sure we can sell power at a competitive price.”
Helping to make solar fields more affordable is the fact that solar equipment and installation have dropped to about one-tenth of the cost in 2008, Scher said.
“Purchasing panels at a lower price allows us to sell power at a lower price,” he said.
The solar panels will be placed on steel pylons that are driven 7 to 9 feet in the ground. Installation crews will try to not damage underground drainage tiles already in place for the farm acreage, Scher said. If damage occurs, the crews will repair or replace the tiles, he added.
“We want to make sure there’s no negative effects to crops,” he said.
Native grasses would be planted under the panels.
Scher explained that 7X Energy began talking with landowners west of Weston last year. The company hopes to have a project website up sometime this month.
A local information session will be held virtually in January, and the Ohio Power Siting Board will hold a public hearing on the project in July. The Ohio Power Siting Board will examine the proposed location for items such as wetlands.
The company is hoping to start construction in early 2022.
On Thursday, Scher presented the Wood County Commissioners with one missing piece to the company’s plan – a state tax abatement for the solar site, with the blessing of the county.
“This is a pretty essential element to doing business in Ohio,” in order to be competitive, Scher told them.
The property taxes currently collected on the acreage total about $25,266 annually, according to Scher. Once the solar field is in production, the tax revenue could be 30 times that amount, he added.
“It’s a substantial investment in the community,” Scher said.
As part of a PILOT tax abatement agreement with the state, the energy firm would agree to pay the taxing jurisdictions where the acreage sits $7,000 a year for each megawatt produced there. Though the exact location is still unknown, it is projected that Otsego School District would be the largest beneficiary of the annual $700,000 total in property taxes.
The life of the solar project is projected at 40 years.
There will be other economic benefits to the project, Scher told the commissioners, such as enhanced stability of the local power grid, the leasing payments to landowners, and between 100-200 construction jobs.
The company will enter a road maintenance agreement with the governmental entities where the solar field sits, to make sure 7X Energy is a good neighbor during construction, Scher said.
Once constructed, there will be just one or two full-time jobs at the site.
County officials had questions for Scher about using local labor and locally manufactured solar panels.
Wood County Administrator Andrew Kalmar informed Scher of Ohio’s labor regulation that 80% of the construction workers installing the solar field must be Ohio-based. He mentioned that the construction firm putting in the Bowling Green solar site violated that rule.
“We will want assurances that the 80% will be adhered to,” Kalmar said.
Commissioner Craig LaHote said the county may consider additional guidelines to better define who qualifies as residents of the state.
Wood County Auditor Matt Oestreich asked Scher if 7X Energy would be using solar panels manufactured at First Solar in Perrysburg Township.
“Potentially – it hasn’t been determined yet,” Scher said, explaining that it will depend on the availability and cost of the panels. 7X Energy has used First Solar panels on some of its projects, he added.
Wood County Economic Development Commission Director Wade Gottschalk said the solar field would have a low impact on the location, would provide a “substantial” amount to a school district, and comes with a road agreement for townships involved.
“I think it’s a good fit,” Gottschalk said.
