Lawrence County Presiding Commissioner Bob Senninger speaks to the crowd at a meeting with Geronimo Power representatives about a solar farm and battery storage site being built in Jasper and Lawrence counties around the north side of La Russell to provide power for what’s being called a hyperscale data center. Globe | John Hacker
Lawrence County Presiding Commissioner Bob Senninger speaks to the crowd at a meeting with Geronimo Power representatives about a solar farm and battery storage site being built in Jasper and Lawrence counties around the north side of La Russell to provide power for what’s being called a hyperscale data center. Globe | John Hacker
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — Nearly 40 residents of Jasper and Lawrence counties listened Monday at the Lawrence County Health Department as representatives of Geronimo Power presented plans for a 640-acre solar farm in western Lawrence County.
The Lawrence County Commission heard from Geronimo project manager Mark Jones, community engagement specialist Samantha Meadows, attorney Mark Brady and permit specialist Alia Mohammad on the scope and scale of the solar farm in Lawrence County tied to a data center site nearby in Jasper County.
“This is primarily informational, just to give you a status and update as to where we’re at in our efforts to bring this project to life,” Jones said. “And then, since we are at a stage where we’re starting to feel very confident about this, our ability to deliver this project in the entirety, there are a couple of items that remain that are county business. That has to do with a road-use agreement and, secondly, a development agreement. We are at a 60% design phase and what that means is we do three or four renditions of different designs once we gather more information about the site and what that means is we go out and double and triple check our efforts.”
Jones told commissioners that they’ve got lease agreements from landowners for solar project in Lawrence County.
That 640-acre project will be built as part of a total of 2,000 acres of solar panels and battery storage in Jasper and Lawrence counties near La Russell to produce about 150 megawatts of electricity to provide part of the power needed to run what’s being called a hyperscale data center that would be built just southwest of La Russell.
Jones told the commissioners the company is working toward starting construction on the solar farm by May 2027.
He said the company has leases with local landowners for the 640 acres it needs in Lawrence County. Those leases will be for 25 years with the potential for three 10-year extensions, or a total of 55 years.
Brady, the attorney, talked about efforts to ensure that local entities benefit from taxes that are generated by the project.
“Historically, in the state of Missouri, solar energy projects were tax-exempt, so they wouldn’t be paying property taxes,” Brady said. “A couple of years ago, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that that statutory tax exemption was unconstitutional. And so at that point, it became uncertain how solar projects were to be taxed because the state didn’t have a specific statute that said here is how solar projects are taxed and here’s how the taxes flow to the various local taxing jurisdictions. So that does not exist currently.”
Brady said he didn’t have numbers on revenue for local agencies on hand at the meeting.
Jasper County Presiding Commissioner John Bartosh was at the meeting, along with other county officials and residents who live near the project.
Bartosh said he attended the meeting mainly to tell the Lawrence County Commission that the Jasper County Commission has signed no agreements with Geronimo Power related to the project.
He also said he didn’t know how either commission could stop it because neither county has planning and zoning.
“Nobody wants planning and zoning,” Bartosh said. “We tried it twice in Jasper County, and it failed miserably. I don’t want it. I want to be able to build a turkey barn where I want to build it on my land. And these people from Geronimo have the right to put a data center and solar farm where they want to put it. I’m not against that, but it needs to be put in properly. I know a lot of people are against it, but there were a lot of things brought out today that are not true. Sure, I wish it wasn’t here, but as far as stopping them, I don’t believe we’ve got a way of stopping them.”
Amber Turner, who lives in Jasper County near the site, said she was worried about how this will affect her land and home and whether she’ll have anything left to leave her children.
“I’m scared to death,” Turner said. “My life goal was to leave my property to my children, and that’s going to be wrecked. I raised them in the creeks and I don’t know how my grandchildren are going to play there now, how my livestock going to live. I live next to cattle. How are the cattle going to survive with the noise, the lights, when there’s no water for them?”
A public meeting about the solar farm and data center will be held a 7 p.m. Thursday, April 23, at Sarcoxie High School.
SARCOXIE, Mo. — A Minnesota technology firm is planning a data center and solar energy park on land south of Missouri Highway 96 and west of La Russell and County Route U in eastern Jasper County.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
This site is for CNHI, LLC employees only.
Please enter your cnhinews.com credentials to access this site.
If you have any questions please contact help@cnhionline.com
