Chester County Council moves ahead with solar farm; offers updates on manufacturer site
Chester County Council took a step forward Monday on a proposed $70 million solar farm project.
Council approved the first of three votes needed for an incentive agreement for the yet unnamed company. The incentives would run 40 years and is dependent on power generation at the site.
County bond attorney Michael Kozlarek offered some detail Monday night. The solar generation site would produce about 70 megawatts of AC power annually.
“They are currently in discussions with a power grid provider to offload that power,” Kozlarek said.
The incentive, based on a planned $4,500 per megawatt hour, would come to about $314,000 annually. The fee is what the company would pay instead of taxes. The incentive agreement could be complete as soon as April 3.
A megawatt equates to a million watts. For comparison, Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions announced its largest solar farm to date on Wednesday with a 250 megawatt facility in Texas. Estimates vary by area on how many homes a megawatt can power. According to the York Electric Cooperative estimate of 50 kilowatts powering seven homes, a single megawatt would power 140 homes.
Chester County has the solar farm decision as council moves forward on several major projects.
Another vote finalized some legal work for the already announced IKO project. The roofing product maker aims to bring 180 jobs.
Also, council voted Monday to move forward on three zoning changes related to an also unnamed project. Final approval on each zoning change is needed to allow a 700-acre manufacturing project off Lancaster Highway, east of I-77 near Richburg.
Because the new company hasn’t been named, there have been some public and even council questions in the past week related to public safety and overall quality of the project. Council members Corey Guy and Erin Mosley recently met with county economic development staff, and both now say they’re more comfortable supporting the project.
“I’m pleased with the answers that I got to a lot of questions that I asked,” Guy said.
The chemicals used by the new company are similar to those being produced or used elsewhere in the county now, and are similar to what many people wash with in their own homes, Guy said. Mosley said council members can’t share many details now, and it’s difficult to ask people to blindly trust government.
“It’s not trusting in government, it’s trusting in us to serve you,” Mosley said.
Chairman Joe Branham said he also learned a $6 million bridge over S.C. 9 for rail will be paid entirely by the incoming company.
“No tax dollars whatsoever,” Branham said.
The tallest structure on site will be about 150 feet, but most structures will be 50 feet or below.
This story was originally published March 8, 2023 at 10:23 AM.
