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JAMESTOWN — Fried Township will work with Stutsman County to develop an ordinance for solar facilities, according to Joell Hatch, a member of the township board.
New Leaf Energy is working with Fried Township to permit, develop and build a 247 megawatt solar project north of Jamestown. The estimated cost of the Buffalo solar project — a solar farm — is $370 million.
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William Dean, New Leaf Energy’s lead project developer, presented information about the project at the Fried Township Board’s meeting Tuesday evening, Jan. 20, at the Gladstone Inn & Suites in Jamestown. Around 40 people attended the meeting where Dean addressed concerns and questions about the project.
Dean said New Leaf Energy will work with the Fried Township Board to figure out what the appropriate setback distance will be from occupied residences. He said New Leaf Energy is working with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department to see what a setback from wetlands would look like.
He told The Jamestown Sun that New Leaf Energy is working with Fried Township to amend its ordinance to add definitions for solar facilities and update its permit schedule. Once the Fried Township Board adopts the ordinance, New Leaf Energy can apply for a conditional use permit for the project.
The project would need approval from the North Dakota Public Service Commission as well.
Allen Falk, chairman of the Fried Township Board, said the board has to go through a process and listen to township residents and others affected in the area. He also said it’s too early in the process to talk about zoning for solar facilities.
Hatch told The Jamestown Sun that Fried Township does not have a zoning ordinance for solar facilities.
New Leaf Energy’s setback requirements are the industry standard, Dean said at a Stutsman County Commission meeting on Jan. 6. The setback distance for the project is 50 to 100 feet from property lines, 250 to 500 feet from occupied residences, 25 to 50 feet from wetlands and 100 to 200 feet from county, state and township roads.
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The Buffalo solar project is a solar farm that would be located on about 1,600 acres of land north of Jamestown in Fried Township. The 1,600 acres are owned by one landowner.
The solar farm would be 247 megawatts, which is equivalent to powering about 50,000 homes annually, Dean said.
Solar panels would be placed on land along North Dakota Highway 20 and on land north of 29th Street Southeast east of the highway. The solar farm would connect to Otter Tail Power Co.’s high-voltage power grid near its substation located about 7 miles north of Jamestown.
Dean said the project will generate 200 to 300 construction jobs. He said about five to six employees would be needed once it is constructed.
Construction on the project could start in summer 2028 with completion in summer 2029.
Dean said New Leaf Energy estimates paying about $23.4 million in state and local taxes over the 30-year life span of the project.
The estimated allocations on what New Leaf Energy expects to pay in taxes to individual entities over 30 years are:
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Dean said the project would also double Fried Township’s budget while the solar farm occupies 7% of the land in the township.
The solar farm would have a lease of about 25 to 30 years.
Dean said the lease might not be renewed after it expires. He said the polysilicon panels start to degrade over the course of 20 to 30 years, and it is best to recoup the costs by recycling the equipment.
“As far as I know, there’s not existing technology to repower that same exact solar cell,” he said.
Dean said a new lease could be signed in approximately 30 years for newer solar panels, but it is too far away to know what will happen.
He said trees would be planted about 250 feet from North Dakota Highway 20 and potentially 29th Street Southeast to block the view of the solar panels. He said the solar farm will have grasses native to the area as well.
Dean said the project will not contribute more water from snowmelt than what currently exists and will address water flow changes through a hydrology study.
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