A proposed 5-7 megawatt solar farm on about 47 acres of Shawano County land on the north side of state Highway 22 near Rose Brook Road will bring the county only $500 per acre per year instead of the $800 noted when the proposal was first made in December.
Nolan Stumpf, a development manager with OneEnergy, explained the change to the public property committee Jan. 15.
Stumpf said the line on Rose Brook Road is owned by Shawano Municipal Utilities and would need upgrading to accommodate the additional service. That, in turn, would mean OneEnergy would decrease its annual lease payments to the county from $800 per acre to $500 per acre for the 30-year lease.
“We originally thought it (the power line) was owed by an investor-owned utility,” he said. “It was our mistake. (SMU) is not able to purchase the project outright, so we would own the project and sell the power to them, and that changes the economics quite a bit.”
He said the $500 payment is based on similar projects where power is sold to a municipal utility, similar to a project at Shawano Municipal Airport.
Supervisor Tom Kautza said that change has ripple effects.
“We’re not going to qualify for the aid payment from the state,” he said. “Shawano Municipal Utilities is not a large-scale generator.”
Stumpf agreed, noting that OneEnergy doesn’t qualify either, as the company would have to own 50 megawatts for the payments to kick in.
“If we’re not going to get the megawatt lease payment and the incentive payment, there ain’t much money in it for us,” Kautza said. “I was assuming this was going to be sold to a larger company.”
Payments in lieu of taxes would amount to $1,333.33 per megawatt per year for the county and $666.67 for the Town of Belle Plaine.
Another incentive payment, because it’s a solar project, would be $1,500 per megawatt per year.
“If them two figures don’t qualify, and now we’re only getting $500 a month, we’re not gaining much,” Kautza said.
However, in reading more on the matter from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Kautza said the county would qualify for the $1,500 payment.
Supervisor Randy Young said the county will need time to crunch some numbers.
“We’ll need a little time to figure out a little more again now, because that changes the ballgame big time,” Kautza said.
Nichole Zuehl, county finance director, said she will contact the DOR to determine exact numbers.
The solar farm lease will be addressed at a future committee meeting.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
