By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The Wood County Commissioners threw some shade on Bowling Green’s plans Thursday to build a solar array to help power the city and other communities.
Work was to begin on the largest solar field in Ohio in a couple days. But that is unlikely now since the county has not yet approved the 30-year tax abatement requested for the $43 million project. The commissioners continued to question the rushed timeline of the project, which would build a 20 MW solar array on city acreage northeast of the city.
“How necessary is this aggressive timeline?” Commissioner Joel Kuhlman asked.
“Critical,” responded Brian O’Connell, director of public utilities for the city. “There can be no delay.”
If the county does not approve the tax exemption, the solar project will be unaffordable for NextEra Energy and AMP, which are working on the project, according to O’Connell.
“It is likely that this project will be canceled due to the increased costs,” he said.
“This project is bigger than just a Bowling Green site,” O’Connell said. There are 26 proposed sites in AMP member communities across five states. Six of those sites, including Bowling Green’s, are planned to be completed by the end of 2016.
“It is difficult to make solar generation projects cost effective without utilizing all of the tax advantages available,” O’Connell said. So the state is allowing projects like this to be exempt from property taxes as long as they meet criteria.
If the city were to own the solar power generating system, it would not pay property taxes, it was noted.
But Kuhlman pointed out that the tax breaks will be benefiting a private company – not the city in this case. “This is a private entity that is going to be operating the solar field,” he said. “That’s why we’re asking these questions.”
“We are talking about a private entity that is asking for a substantial tax break, that is trying to make money,” Kuhlman said.
The city could have constructed its own solar field, but it would not have been nearly as large nor would it have provided as much energy savings, explained Megan Newlove, president of the city’s Board of Public Utilities.
The county has granted tax breaks to private companies before. But this request is different in its size and duration, granting an exemption of $7.3 million over the first 15 years. Most tax abatements are based on the number of jobs created by a business. But this request differs there as well, since there will be no jobs beyond the construction period.
Construction of the solar field will employ about 85 people from now to Dec. 31. And 80 percent of those people are required to be Ohio residents – but there is no requirement that they come from Wood County.
Bowling Green Mayor Dick Edwards pointed out that the project would benefit people well beyond the city, with 30 percent of Wood County’s population served by the utilities. He also noted that the building of Ohio’s largest solar field will reinforce the city’s reputation for green energy started years ago with the wind turbines west of the city.
“Clearly Bowling Green’s continuing pattern of growing sustainability will greatly benefit all of BG’s utility customers including its rapidly growing industrial base where more than 1,500 jobs were added over the past four years,” Edwards said.
The mayor said he understood the county’s hesitation. “I don’t fault you at all. I commend you for asking these questions.”
However, the city officials stressed that without a tax deal, there may be no solar project.
But Kuhlman again asked, why the rush? The county already had to file for an extension with the state to have until July 26 to decide the issue. The economic advantages from the tax break will be there for the company, even if the project is not completed this year, he said.
“Likely the prices will go up,” O’Connell said. “The schedule is important.”
The solar field is planned on 320 acres owned by the city of Bowling Green at the southeast corner of Carter and Newton roads. The city will retain ownership of the land and lease 165 acres for the solar development. The remaining acreage will continue to be leased for farming.
The solar array will consist of 85,680 panels that will track the sun from east to west everyday for maximum power generation.
One other concern is that the solar array will be built using panels from Hanwha – not First Solar, which is located in Wood County. NextEra Energy has used First Solar panels in many projects, but is not planning to at the 18 sites proposed in Ohio.
“In this case, it just wouldn’t work out,” O’Connell said.
Commissioner Craig LaHote found that troubling. “I’m just disappointed,” he said, suggesting that the project should have “sensitivity to the proximity of First Solar.”
“It’s a wonderful project. I think it would be a wonderful asset to have here,” LaHote said.
He pointed out that the school districts affected by the tax cuts have signed off on the deal and will benefit from the arrangement. But Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities Superintendent Melanie Stretchbery, said her agency and others in the county would lose out on the tax deal.
After the meeting, LaHote said the commissioners will likely make a decision on the issue next week. “I don’t see any reason to drag it out,” he said.
