Midwest Electric proposing to establish solar generation facility in County
By Becky Uehling
GrantTribune Correspondent
On Monday, Dec. 23 at 7 p.m., the Planning Commission of Perkins County will meet for a public hearing on a request by Midwest Electric to establish a solar generation facility three miles north and two miles east of Grant on ground belonging to Don and Jorga Gloy of Grant. The meeting will be held at the Perkins County Courthouse.
According to Jayson Bishop, manager of Midwest Electric, the Perkins County site is one of four proposed sites Midwest is pursuing to establish solar generation on in the area.
The proposed Perkins County site would be the biggest of the four, sitting on approximately 10 acres, and could possibly be expanded to 20 acres, he said. The Perkins County site will be unique because “there is not currently another facility of this type or of this size within hundreds of miles,” he said.
“We spread the four projects around our service area so that we can serve different areas with the power generated,” Bishop said. “Then we looked to find land where a landowner was willing to work with us to site the projects.”
Bishop said there were many factors involved with choosing a proposed site, such as proximity to existing Midwest Electric facilities, current land usage, and took into consideration any environmental issues that may have been present.
According to the public notice for the hearing, the proposed solar generation facility will have a maximum output capacity of 2.0 megawatts AC, and will be accompanied by a battery storage system with a total storage capacity of 7.8 megawatt hours.
Bishop said the Midwest Board of Directors has been discussing utilizing solar to generate some of its electricity locally, which is an option provided by Tri-State Generation and Transmission, Midwest’s wholesale power supplier. The Midwest Board also included solar as part of its strategic plan in 2022, he said.
According to Bishop, Midwest applied for and was selected to receive federal funding through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program. The PACE program provides a partially forgivable loan to fund the projects. Midwest will also be seeking Investment Tax Credits to help fund the projects. The projects will help to provide low-cost energy to our members, Bishop said.
Bishop said the project is a win for Midwest customers, with very few draw-backs with the project.
“As Midwest Electric is a cooperative, all our members are also owners of the corporation,” he said. “So, anything that benefits Midwest benefits all of our member-owners.”
He said the biggest benefit to these projects is securing a low-cost source of power for Midwest customers for many years into the future.
“After the initial investment in the infrastructure, the only expenses Midwest will have is maintenance to keep it in proper condition. The ‘fuel’ for the electricity produced, which is sunlight, is free. So, it is a way to keep our rates as low as we can for our members,” Bishop said.
Bishop said other benefits of the project will be opportunities for construction jobs while the project is being built, and he hopes the facility will be a way to provide some first-hand experience in collaboration with the school to expose our students to something new.
Bishop said he is always appreciative of input from the public, especially Midwest members.
“We have already gone through this process for two similar projects that will be located in Keith County where people attended the Planning Commission and Commissioner meetings to give feedback and ask questions,” he said. “We appreciated the opportunity to help answer questions, so people feel that they have a better understanding of what we are working on.”
Those with questions about the project are encouraged to attend the public hearing, or contact Bishop at Midwest Electric during business hours by calling 308-352-4356.