Invenergy's Grand Ridge Solar Plant Begins Construction

In another example of the state's Renewable Energy Standard creating jobs, Chicago-based Invenergy begun construction on the state's largest solar energy project this week, a 20-megawatt project adjacent to their existing Grand Ridge wind farm in LaSalle County. From an article in the Times of Ottawa:

Construction of the 140-acre solar farm at the southeast corner of East 21st Road and North 15th Road in Otter Creek Township just east of Streator is scheduled to begin Monday.

Joel Schroeder, project director for Invenergy, said union contractor White Construction of Clinton, Ind., is expected to hire more than 100 workers for the job.

The project is one of a handful of new wind and solar projects that are being built in Illinois this year as a result of a competitive bidding process conducted by the Illinois Power Agency last year. Several companies won long-term contracts to supply renewables to the state's utilities in the IPA procurement, including Invenergy's bid for the Grand Ridge solar plant.

We can expect more similar projects, jobs and economic growth in the state if the IPA agrees to hold another competitive, long-term solicitation for renewable energy in the future. From the Times piece:

Streator City Manager Paul Nicholson said a certificate and application as well as fees to utilize the city's enterprise zone have been completed. He expects the first enterprise zone payment of $33,333 to be in the city's possession by Friday or Monday.

The project is expected to bring in an estimated $336,900 in tax revenue per year, with Streator Township High School and Allen-Otter Creek School districts expected to benefit the most.

Streator stands to take in an extra $2.2 million during the next two decades, while Ransom's grade school could see more than $1 million during the 20-year life expectancy of the project.

Schroeder anticipates construction to be finished and the solar farm to be operational by next summer.

He does not expect traffic to be a concern for residents in Otter Creek Township near construction.

"We worked traffic out with the township's road commissioner and construction traffic will be limited to 21st Road coming from the north or the south," Schroeder told The Times.

The solar farm will replace 160 acres of farmland producing corn and soybeans, amounting to .025 percent of the 643,291 acres of total tillable cropland in La Salle County, according to a 2007 census conducted by the National Agricultural Statistical Services.

The project is part of a 20-year power purchase agreement with ComEd.

ComEd will utilize the solar energy-renewable certificates to meet a state policy requiring 0.5 percent of its renewable portfolio be provided by solar energy. State law requires 7 percent of all electricity sold by an electric utility come from renewable resources.

The solar farm is expected to produce 200 megawatt hours per acre, estimated to power about 2,900 average homes annually. In comparison, wind turbines produce 13,500 megawatt hours per acre.

La Salle County, Otter Creek Township, Otter Creek Township Roads and Illinois Valley Community College will benefit as well from tax revenue.

Deal Could Close Chicago Coal Plants, Give PPA to Edison's Big Sky Project

From Crain's Chicago Business:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is close to backing a “clean energy for dirty energy” trade proposed by Midwest Generation LLC that would shutter the company's two aged coal-fired power plants in the city, long targeted by environmental groups and local politicians as threats to the health of children.

Under the deal, the mayor would ask the General Assembly to pass a bill requiring the state to purchase electricity under a long-term, above-market-rate contract from MidwestGen's struggling Big Sky wind farm in Northwest Illinois in return for shuttering the Fisk and Crawford plants in Pilsen and Little Village, according to people familiar with the matter.

If the deal can be ironed out with the Chicago-based company and with lawmakers, Mr. Emanuel would fulfill a promise to close down or clean up the 50-year-old plants, which environmentalists blame for high asthma rates, among other health issues. But he will have to win over House Speaker Michael Madigan, who opposes above-market-rate deals with renewable energy developers as harmful to ratepayers.

The Legislature could consider a bill as early as its upcoming veto session, which begins Oct. 25. One wild card: To date, Commonwealth Edison Co. has been cool to the emerging MidwestGen deal as the utility lobbies furiously to override Gov. Pat Quinn's veto of a measure to annually raise electricity rates by formula and finance billions of dollars of power-grid improvements. A MidwestGen proposal could be tacked onto the ComEd bill or considered separately.

MidwestGen's president, Doug McFarlan, and a spokesman for the mayor decline to comment.

CITY COUNCIL PRESSURE

“The mayor has realized this is a public health problem that needs to be solved, and he's been very helpful in initiating the discussions,” says Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club's Illinois chapter and part of the Chicago Clean Power Coalition, a group of environmental, labor and community health groups seeking to close the Chicago plants. “The company is interested in finding a solution, and we're happy to listen to them.”

Pressure from the City Council is building on MidwestGen. An ordinance that would require the company to close or retrofit the plants has been introduced repeatedly over the past several years, but it now has 35 co-sponsors, more than the 26 needed to pass. Even if the council approves it, though, observers expect the company to challenge it in court, arguing that the city doesn't have the authority to close a federally regulated facility.

MidwestGen's Crawford coal-fired plant | Photo: Erik Unger

To forestall litigation, Mr. Emanuel met with Pedro Pizzaro, president of MidwestGen's parent, Santa Ana, Calif.-based Edison Mission Group, a month ago and called on him to work out a deal to close the plants, sources say. That launched the negotiations.

MidwestGen's price for turning off the plants is a contract of up to 25 years for the state to purchase the output of the 240-megawatt Big Sky wind farm about 100 miles west of Chicago, which began operating in February and is the company's largest. The facility has a $190-million loan due in 2014 and needs a long-term contract at rates above today's wholesale prices to pay it off, sources say. As of last week, the mayor and the company hadn't yet agreed on a contract price.

Under a 2006 agreement with the state, MidwestGen has until 2015 to decide whether to go forward with costly environmental upgrades to Fisk and until 2017 and 2018 to do the same with the two units at Crawford. Any deal with Mr. Emanuel would move those timetables up, sources say.

The plants employ 200 union workers. MidwestGen has proposed repowering Crawford to use cleaner-burning natural gas, but even if the mayor and environmentalists agree, that would save just a fraction of those jobs, sources say.

Gov. Quinn Highlights Deal to Build Goldwind's First Wind Farm in US

With Governor Pat Quinn on a trade mission to China, his office is talking up a deal signed by Chinese wind developer Goldwind to build the company's first US wind farm in Lee County, which is now under construction. The power-purchase agreement (PPA) between Goldwind's Shady Oaks project and ComEd was signed after the company won a competitive procurement process for renewable power supply contracts conducted in late 2010 by the Illinois Power Agency, the state agency responsible for overseeing power contracts in the state.

From a press release from Goldwind (via Nasdaq):

"As the largest and most competitive market in the world, the United States is a key component of Goldwind's international growth," Goldwind Chairman and CEO Wu Gang said. "Goldwind has generated a competitive global footprint and we are focused on continuing that momentum, continuing to demonstrate our technology advantages and continuing to build out our global supply chain."

The Shady Oaks wind farm project, to be located in Lee County, Illinois, about 100 miles west of Chicago, will break ground later this fall, and will generate 109.5 megawatts of power.

The announcement comes as part of a trade visit to China by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. A statement from the governor's office didn't specify when the project would go online.

Under the contract, the project must first deliver power to ComEd by June 1, 2012.

Invenergy Approved to Build Illinois' Largest Solar Energy Project

The LaSalle County Board has approved Invenergy's proposal to build a 20MW solar project near the Grand Ridge Wind Farm site, paving the way for the construction of what will be the largest solar energy facility in the state.

The project will supply power to ComEd customers in Chicago and northern Illinois. The construction of the solar farm is a great example of how the state's renewble energy standard (RES) can create jobs and economic growth in Illinois, as the project would not be happening if not for action taken by the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) in late 2010.

The IPA held a procurement event in December of last year seeking to broker power purchase agreements (PPAs) between ComEd and renewable projects in Illinois and other states. Invenergy's bid was among the winners in the procurement, and the company is now building the project to deliver power under the PPA contract. Policymakers in Illinois need to understand that additional solicitations for PPAs would yield similar results.

According to the Times of Ottawa:

In a near-unanimous vote at its meeting Thursday, the La Salle County Board, without discussion, steam-rolled a county Zoning Board of Appeals recommendation and approved locating a 140-acre solar farm five miles northeast of Streator.

Thepath is now clear for Invenergy, which operates the Grand Ridge Wind Farm, to build its Grand Ridge Solar Farm, which will be the biggest in the state.

On July 19, the ZBA voted 4-3 against the necessary special use permit for the project, saying the high-quality farmland in Otter Creek Township needed to be preserved for agricultural use.

Invenergy said the solar farm would be dismantled after 20 years and that the project benefits included an estimated 100 construction jobs and more than $336,900 in annual taxes.

Thursday the County Board chambers were filled with numerous interested persons, including representatives of Invenergy, ZBA members and Streator officials.

Kevin Myers, superintendent of Streator Township High School, told the County Board his district's annual share of the solar farm's tax revenue — $150,000 — would pay for four teachers.

"Those four teachers during one day impact 500 kids," he said.

"I am asking you to invest in our future," Myers said. "I'm asking you to invest in the solar energy project and see the benefit that it can have, not only for the students and the community, but for the whole county."

After a brief explanation of the project by Mike Harsted, the county's director of environmental services and land use, the vote was taken without any call for discussion.

Board member Tom Ganiere, D-Ottawa, later said he was surprised there had not been any debate.

Ganiere, who also is chairman of Ottawa's plan commission, said he did notbelieve the ZBA's reasoning behind voting against the special use was valid.

He said one of the main tenants of zoning is to prevent adjacent property owners from harmful or innocuous uses.

"This is not an innocuous use and it's not preventing that farmland from ever being used again," Ganiere said.

He noted it was up to the owner whether the land was farmed at all.

The only vote against the solar farm approval was Russell Boe, R-Ottawa.

Boe later said he is not opposed to a solar farm project, butbelieves it would have been better to locate the project on less productive ground.

"I believe we could have gotten a lesser quality of agriculture siting, or maybe even a reclamation site," Boe said.

"Maybe they wouldn't have found that in La Salle County — I don't know — they might have had to go to another county.

"But if you look at the ethics of prime farm ground, the ethics would be to try to preserve it."

Streator Mayor Jimmie Lansford, who was in the audience, said the project would benefit the city through the solar farm's anticipated inclusion in the city's enterprise zone.

"Not nearly to the extent as the wind turbines, but it will help."

Invenergy issued a statement saying it was "extremely pleased with the La Salle County Board vote today in support of our proposed Grand Ridge Solar Farm. The project will produce clean, renewable solar energy for La Salle County and our home state of Illinois."

LaSalle Co Schools Could See Millions From Invenergy Solar Project

Though the Zoning Board of Appeals rejected Invenergy's special use permit application last week, school districts in LaSalle County are pushing the County Board to approve the company's application to build the state's largest solar photovoltaic project near Ransom, saying the project would bring a massive influx of new tax revenue to the rural districts. 

Similar to the benefits local schools see from wind development, schools in the rural area would see a major boost in new property tax revenue the solar farm would bring. According to a story from the Times of Ottawa:

For Streator Township High School and Ransom's Allen-Otter Creek school districts, the project could be a means to increase revenue without having to dig into taxpayers' pockets — and possibly avoid cuts. Taxing districts for La Salle County, Otter Creek Township, Otter Creek Township Roads and Illinois Valley Community College also will benefit if the project is approved.

Streator stands to take in an extra $2.2 million during the next two decades, while Ransom's grade school could see more than $1 million during the 20-year life expectancy of the project.

For the solar project to be approved, a simple majority of the County Board would have to vote in favor, according to state statutes.

"From a school's standpoint, it provides an increase and a steady source of reliable income," said Kevin Myers, STHS superintendent. "This could also minimize the tax rate we ask from our district."

While the high school plans to abate 100 percent of school district taxes through the enterprise zone program, it will receive a sharing agreement fee equivalent to what 50 percent of the taxes would be if the abatement did not exist.

This is beneficial to both Invenergy and STHS, since general state aid funding to STHS would decrease as taxes collected from property values increase.

Myers said the net benefit of abating taxes and collecting a payment instead equates to $914,000 during a 16-year period. For example, in 2015, STHS would receive $179,000 if it entered into the agreement, rather than the $102,000 it would receive from the increase in property tax values and loss of general state aid.

Unlike Streator, Ransom does not have an enterprise zone to offer. It will benefit from additional funding from an increase to property values in its district. The greatest gains will come at the beginning of the farm's life and depreciate each year as the project nears its end.

With the increase to its tax base from surrounding wind turbines and the potential solar farm, the school's superintendent Mary Pat Baima anticipates a decrease in state funding but anticipates a net gain for the school.

She does not foresee the school taking a hit when the project is decommissioned.

"We plan for that," Baima said. "We look ahead and make sure we are aware of what's happening and how it will affect our funding."

Who benefits?

Below is the breakdown by taxing district:
La Salle County:  rate 0.9404  revenue $47,020
Otter Creek Twp.:  rate 0.2123  revenue $10,615
Otter Creek Twp. Roads:  rate 0.2512  revenue $12,560
*Streator Twp. High School:  rate 2.9692  revenue $148,460
Allen-Otter Creek School:  rate 2.0240  revenue $101,200
Illinois Valley Comm. College:  rate 0.3427  revenue $17,135
Total:  rate 6.7398  revenue $336,990

These figures are based on preliminary construction estimates and input from the La Salle County Assessor's Office. It is estimated that Invenergy will be paying the County in excess of $300,000 in annual property taxes, which equates to about $5 million in equalized assessed value.

*STHS plans to abate these taxes as stated above

Invenergy won a contract to supply power to ComEd thanks to a 2010 solicitation for power purchase agreements (PPAs) held under the authority of the Illinois Power Agency. Another similar solicitation would ensure that other new wind and solar projects are able to move forward in Illinois, further boosting the state's struggling economy.

AWEM's Sangamon Co Project Moving Forward, but Needs PPA

American Wind Energy Management (AWEM) is moving forward with their plans to construct the Sangamon Wind project west of Springfield, performing the necessary studies and land acquisition work required to build the project. The company hopes to file its permit with the county within two years, but like many developers, thellargest hurdle is securing a power-purchase agreement (PPA) or other offtake agreement with an electric utility in Illinois or another state.

It's a common predicament throughout the wind industry in the US, but across the power sector in general: banks aren't lending to new generation that doesn't have long-term offtake agreements in place. And for Illinois, it's just one more reminder why the Illinois Power Agency needs to seek long-term PPAs in future power procurements under the state's renewable energy standard.

According to a story in the State Journal-Register:

More than 2 1/2 years after plans were announced for a 200-turbine wind farm in western Sangamon County, developers say they are continuing to work on land options and need the economy to improve.

The project, now known as Sangamon Wind I and Sangamon Wind II, would include an area from the Morgan County line to Farmingdale and Loami to Pleasant Plains.

“We’re still quite a ways from actually putting together a permit application,” said Chris Nickell, site manager for developer American Wind Energy Management.[...]

Options on 22,500 acres have been signed for the first phase of the project, according to the company. Nickell said the project has faced delays in negotiations for a connection to the regional power grid, but the economy has been the biggest challenge.

“To build a wind farm, you need wind, you need land, you need an electrical connection, and you need someone to sell power to,” said Nickell. “It’s the last part where the economy has had a big impact.

“When the economy goes down, so does the demand for power.”[...]

Even if the economy were to rebound, it could take up to two years to get permit approval and to begin construction, Nickell said.

Invenergy Solar Facility May Be Built Near Grand Ridge Site

Invenergy confirmed rumors that their proposed solar energy facility in Illinois, the company's first, may be located near Streator, in the vicintiy of the company's flagship Grand Ridge wind project in LaSalle County.

Invenergy won a power-purchase agreeement contract to supply solar energy to ComEd in a procurement event conducted last fall by the Illinois Power Agency. Two new wind projects in Illinois will be built thanks to that procurement event, as well as two solar energy facilities. Details on size and location of the Invenergy solar project have been slowly emerging, but the exact location has not yet been released publically.

Under the PPA with ComEd, the generator must begin delivering power by June 1 of next year, meaning construction on the project could begin soon.

According to an article in the Ottawa Times:

Invenergy this week confirmed its interest in the area when a spokeswoman from the Chicago-based solar and wind company told The Times the Streator enterprise zone is one of the enterprise zones the company is evaluating for its Illinois Solar Project.[...]

Kevin Myers, superintendent of Streator Township High School, announced at a school board meeting in May the group looked at purchasing 160 acres between Ottawa and Streator for the development of solar energy. Invenergy would use photovoltaics to generate solar energy. converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors.

Paul Nicholson, Streator city manager, also confirmed an energy company spoke with the city about utilizing its enterprise zone for solar power.

Myers said if Invenergy builds in the Streator taxing district, the company intends to abate 100 percent of school district taxes through enterprise zone abatement. In compensation, the company would pay STHS a sharing agreement fee equivalent to 50 percent of the taxes it would pay if the abatement did not exist.

This would benefit both parties because Invenergy would not have to pay as much in taxes, and STHS would not decrease its general state aid funding by increasing its property tax intake.

This is similar to an agreement STHS made with Iberdrola Renewables for wind farm construction.

The would-be benefit to the STHS district is estimated at about $2.2 million through 2027.

"This could be a win-win for both parties," Myers said. "But all of this is pending the building site being located in the Streator enterprise zone, which is still undecided."