The county’s solar farm project in the closed landfill at the Thurston County Waste and Recovery Center (WARC) is moving forward.
The Board of County Commissioners approved an agreement on Tuesday, March 5, granting EDF Renewables Distributed Solutions, Inc. (EDF) the exclusive right to negotiate a lease for 25 acres of land in WARC to develop a photovoltaic generation facility.
Climate Mitigation Senior Program Manager Rebecca Harvey told the board that the agreement will run for two years so the county and EDF can explore a potential long-term lease agreement. During this period, the county is prohibited from using the project site in any way that could interfere with the development of the solar facility.
Granting the company exclusive rights to negotiate a lease is also necessary to file an interconnection study with Puget Sound Energy (PSE), accordion to documents prepared for the meeting.
The board also authorized another agreement granting the company the right to enter the project site to conduct activities assessing the feasibility of installing solar panels.
The agreement prohibits activities that disrupt the soil or any form of destructive testing. The use of heavy vehicles or construction equipment will also need the county’s written permission.
The facility's construction is not expected until 2025 as EDF and PSE are still negotiating a power purchase agreement.
The board also approved the franchise of Thurston County Public Utility (Thurston PUD) District on the same day to operate and maintain the water system in county-owned rights-of-way.
Real Estate Services Manager Craig Sisson told the board that the previous franchise ran for ten years and expired. The franchise covers all county-owned rights-of-way outside unincorporated areas.
The board held a public hearing before approving the franchise. County staff stated that they did not receive any comments about the renewal before the hearing, nor did anyone from the public speak about the topic during the hearing.
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SecondOtter
What a great idea! I remember when Hawks PRairie Landfill was an open pit, so to speak. Then they filled it in and it's been vacant ever since. You can't build homes on it...well, I'm betting an unethical developer would like to have tried...but putting a solar panel farm on it is an excellent idea.
Saturday, March 9 Report this
Roundguy
They should put the solar panels over the park and ride. It could cover the cars and provide solar power. Added bonus, there is way less vegetation to deal with. They should offer solar car covers at all kinds of sites in exchange for the power from them.
Saturday, March 9 Report this
Southsoundguy
Solar panels are a complete waste of time and capital. Get real.
Sunday, March 10 Report this
MikePelly
This is a welcoming development. Great to hear of forward thinking local projects towards a sustainable future.
Sunday, March 10 Report this
Southsoundguy
Just so everyone understands, this is a purely strategic financial move to gain tax credits. A solar panel farm in this region covering only 25 acres won’t provide any meaningful power to the grid. Instead, natural gas plants will spin up to meet demand during peak hours when the solar farm is inevitably not going to be generating. It’s a scam, plain and simple.
Sunday, March 10 Report this
MartyKenney
Man, on of these days I really hope I can meet SouthSoundGuy and get to know him, rather than have all these false projections about how anti this and anti that he is… it’s so fascinating how diverse the mentalities of the folks who live here are, and yet we all want to live in peace and have happiness.
Tuesday, March 12 Report this