Carroll County Board of Supervisors held a special called meeting Thursday afternoon at the Carrollton courthouse. Supervisors met with officials with Renewable Energy Solutions about their upcoming Delta’s Edge Solar Farm project.
The projected solar farm is set to be built in Valley Hill near the Greenwood-Leflore County Airport. The project assessed at $110 million will be the largest solar farm in the state. Tax Assessor Wilton Neal said the land right now is used as farm land but will be relisted for commercial use.
Sean Stocker with RES said the property will house solar panels that will power 17,000 homes. He said the company is working with Entergy and Cooperative Energy, the 11 member co-op that includes Delta Electric and the power produced by the solar farm will be “harvested” and distributed to customers through a purchase-power agreement.
He explained that RES doesn’t run the solar farm or have anything to do with the distribution of power. They sell them in a purchase-power agreement. “We build the solar plants and then we sell them to an investor, either Entergy or Cooperative Power, will purchase it and run it,” he said.
Stocker said it wasn’t uncommon for purchase-power agreements to happen. He said whoever purchases the solar farm will be responsible for the upkeep. He said solar farms are low maintenance and quiet.
“They’re the quietest neighbor you’re going to have,” Stocker said.
Natasha Kiler project manager for Delta’s Edge Solar Farm said the company was requesting the state’s standard 30-year abatement or tax benefit. Originally, RES’s calculated that Carroll County will receive $510,000 for the first 10 years the solar farm is in operation. Broken down, the company will add roughly $55,000 per year to the county that the county wouldn’t have had otherwise.
In the original calculations, from years 11 through year 30 the county would see approximately $2.3 million dollars in funding. The county would see more money come after the 30 year abatement is complete.
However, after doing some research over the weekend, county officials found a taxation error in RES’s calculations. Carroll County would actually receive $5 million for the first 10 years and roughly $23 million for years 11-30. Broken down, the county stands to collect $510,000 per year in the first 10 years.
The wouldn’t include the property tax from the land the solar farm is leasing that would have to be paid. The solar farm would also add to the assessed value of the county, which could both help the county and the Carroll County School District see extra money.
Kiler said the figures are based off of where the county’s milage is now. Currently, the county is at 105 mills. Stocker said if the county were to go up on their millage, the amount the county would receive off of the solar farm would increase also.
He said the company has been working on making this project a reality for quite some time and he’s 85 percent sure it’s going to work. He said before meeting with Commissioner Brandon Presley, once they cross that hurdle and getting the okay from the Supervisors of their tax cut, he’ll be at 100 percent.
“There are a few more hurdles that we have to cross,” Stocker said. He said once it’s operational, there may be one or two people working at the solar farm full-time. But, when construction is taking place, it benefits Carroll County because workers will need lodging, look for places to eat and purchase things, bringing revenue into the county.
“And all the other stuff construction folks do,” Kiler said. She said construction is set to take place late 2020 and be complete by 2021. But, in case of contingencies that may make the construction phase longer, construction has an extension date of 2022.
Kiler said because an investor is able to purchase the solar farm and distribute it, it’s a win-win for consumers who will see lower energy bills. Stocker said they wanted to put it on the supervisors radars and have them to being thinking about the project.
Board attorney Kevin Horan asked if a natural disaster came –which isn’t uncommon in Carroll County—and leveled everything, would a new 30-year abatement replace the exisiting one? Stocker said it would trigger another 10 year abatement but it would be a step up, meaning wherever the millage and the assessed value of the county is when it took place.
Stocker said the biggest questioned that had to be answered was if Carroll County supervisors were excited. He said when the supervisors are on board 100 percent, the people will be on board 100 percent, too.
“It’s a very good project,” Stocker said. “There’s a demand and interest for the project.”
