A major solar energy project proposed for western Mills County passed its first challenge last week.
After listening to a presentation from Orion Renewable Energy Group and comments from around 20 citizens, the Mills County Zoning Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a conditional use permit for the utility scale Folsom Lake Solar Project.
The nearly 6,000-acre, 800-megawatt solar project is proposed on leased land south of Bunge Ave. between the Missouri River and 195th St. and would include a 900-megawatt battery storage facility. It would be one of the largest solar projects in the state, producing enough electricity to power 144,000 average-size Iowa homes annually.
“There’s a huge demand for energy across the country,” said Sazzy Gourley, Orion Senior Project Development Manager. “The scale of the project is designed to meet that need and that demand.”
Orion has secured written agreements with 15 Mills County farm families, who have agreed to lease land on their property for the 35-year lifespan of the project.
“We have a lot of interest from farmers in this community, many of whom are older and see this as a form of retirement,” said Gourley. “Some of them also were hit hard by the flooding of 2019. They’ve seen their costs increase and can use the stable income from our rental agreements to invest in their farming operations elsewhere.”
The low productivity of the flood-damaged farm ground in western Mills County and the proximity to nearby industry make the area attractive for development of a solar project, Gourley noted. Soil on the land being utilized for the project has an average CSR2 rating of 60.51. CSR2 ratings below 65 are considered low-quality soils for growing crops.
“So, we’re not taking prime farmland out of production,” said Gourley. That’s one reason why this a good location for the project. It’s also near heavy industry, such as the coal plant, and the Bunge facility. It’s close to existing power-generation infrastructure. There’s a lower population density – we’re just east of the Missouri River and largely south of Bunge Ave., so most of the families that live in our area are part of the project.”
Several of the landowners who have signed contracts with Orion voiced support for the project at the public hearing.
Lori Green said she lives on a 400-acre farm that has been part of her husband’s family for 100 years.
“The soil on our property is not a rich, prime soil that much of Iowa is noted for,” she said. “We are farm leasing with an excellent farmer, but he is now 90 years old. The last two years, he planted just two-thirds of the acres on our farm because he was concerned about the low yield potential. We still have to pay taxes, despite that.
“With rising operational costs, unpredictable weather, less-than-ideal soil and profit margins continuing to shrink, the reality is no younger farmers are coming forward wanting to farm our farm. So, Tom and I finally came to the realization that we really need to make decisions on what opportunities are available to us, rather than those we thought existed or even wishing existed.”
Other landowners and Mills County residents involved with the project shared similar sentiment. Dan Robbins said he wanted to address a false narrative about the project being spread on social media.
“The land is not being sold to a big power company. The landowners are leasing land,” he said.
Robbins said the lease agreements allow landowners the ability to afford increased costs and property taxes and secure ownership of the property for generations to come.
“The farmers that are currently farming the majority of the land in this project are the same people in this room,” he said. “They’re not losing income, they’re not losing farm ground. They are essentially increasing their income and securing something that will come for future purchases, retirement and beneficiaries when we’re all gone.”
Glenwood resident Maddi Sieck said Orion has earned her support, despite concerns she has about the future of some other renewable energy projects around the country
“My brother, sister and I might be the first decedents coming into this,” she said. My uncle and my dad signed the contracts with Orion. I can say now that I’m fully proud of being part of this. I can see that they have taken the time to work with our community. This is not just a one-and-done, in-and-out, push-it-through kind of thing. I’m excited to be a part of it and I’m also committed to making sure that a lot of the things that we’re talking about tonight are followed through on our land and in our project.”
Orion’s financial commitment to community projects throughout Mills County drew praise from other project proponents who spoke at the hearing. Folsom Lake Solar has already made sizable financial contributions to several projects, including murals in Pacific Junction and Malvern, equipment for first responders, the Glenwood 4th of July celebration and a playground initiative in Silver City.
A community grant fund established by Orion through the Community Foundation For Western Iowa will provide up to $17,500 in grant funding for community endeavors in the county over 35 years.
“All of the dollars have to be granted out into Mills County and the funding decisions will be made by a committee of Mills County residents,” Gourley stated. “We’re really excited for the potential impact and also the authority that it gives people in Mills County to decide what’s most important to fund as the county’s needs change over time.”
There was opposition to the project voiced by some citizens at the public hearing, including Terynes Kleffman who lives a half-mile south of the project area.
“I believe deeply in property rights – a landowner should have the freedom to use their land as they see fit so as that use does not cause harm to others,” she said.
Kleffman called the project an unmitigated conflict of land use.
“This specific project area serves as a critical, irreplaceable biological bridge. It sits directly between the St. Mary’s Islands Wildlife Management Area to the south and the Folsom Lake Wildlife Management Area to the east and north,” she said.
“Roughly 20 years ago, public resources and tax dollars were invested to build up these tracks.  Habitat restoration takes a generation. Our community is just now starting to realize the full ecological return for that investment. In fact, that corridor is working so well, that it is a proven pathway for deer, migrating fowl and even elk have passed through there.”
Ed Cambridge said he is neither in favor nor opposed to the project. While he praised Orion for its thorough presentation and generosity in the community, he also has questions and concerns
“My question is, how can Mills County be certain in all of the terms in the zoning ordinance as well as the generous promises will be fully complied with in the future? Thirty-five years is a long time,” he said. “Orion is the developer, the promoter who obtained the leases and seeks permission to build the farm. The actual construction and operation for the next 35 years will be carried out by others – contractors, sub-contractors, operators, non-resident investors and even perhaps foreign entities.
And those entities may be guided by other objectives and motivations.
“A project of this scale and magnitude has the potential to become a problem that does not ensure the protection, the health, safety and welfare of Mills County.”
Orion officials were allowed to give closing statements and address audience concerns before the public hearing was closed.
Before taking a vote on the conditional use permit, board members entered into discussion with Mills County’s Building and Zoning Consultant Matt Wyatt.
Wyatt read aloud a lengthy list of conditions that Orion would need to meet as part of its permit if approved by the board, including providing funding for a third-party inspector during the construction process.
The solar project is projected to generate over $1 million-plus annually in additional property tax revenue. Board member Pat Collins questioned how big of an impact the additional property tax revenue will make, noting that Mills County has very little commercial or industrial tax base at this time.
Wyatt said the impact will be significant.
“When you’re talking about a million dollars on a rural levy, that’s significant in any county,” he said. “Rural levies are your lowest levies – that’s your ag land, things like that. To add a million dollars on a rural levy, that is a big deal.”
Now that the project has approval from the Board of Adjustment, Orion will focus on the permitting process with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Iowa Utilities Commission. Because of the solar projects proximity to Offutt Air Force Base,
Orion will likely be required to meet some special conditions before getting approval from the FAA.
Wyatt said last week’s approval from the Board of Adjustment for the conditional use permit puts Orion on a 5-year clock to complete the additional state and FAA permitting requirements and complete construction.
Gourley said the earliest start for construction would be in the spring of 2028 and the project could start to come online by the end of 2028. In addition to hundreds of construction jobs, he said the project will create 10-15 full-time operations and maintenance positions.
In addition to the additional property tax revenue and community grant fund, Gourley said there will be additional economic benefits from the project.
The Solar Neighbor Program offers non-participating residences living within one-third of a mile of solar panels annual payments of $2,500 and that amount escalates by 30% every decade. The Tenant Transition program is available to any tenant farmers who are currently farming grounds that will be used for solar panels. They’ll receive $300 per acre once the project commences.
Gourley and other Orion officials stressed the company has made a concerted effort to be a good fit for Mills County, communicating throughout the process with county officials, impacted landowners and neighbors and meeting or exceeding all county zoning requirements for utility scale solar projects.
“We door-knocked every home within a third of a mile of the project. We really wanted people to hear about it from us directly and answer any questions project neighbors might have,” said Gourley. “Our project meets or exceeds all of the county zoning requirements. There’s several places where we go above and beyond. One of those is our setbacks. After having conversations with the levee district and county leadership, we voluntarily committed to a 500-foot setback from the levee so that we are not developing in the levee critical zone.
“We’ve had lots of conversations with the local levee district and through those conversations, we also proactively removed any proposed facility showing greater than 3 feet of flooding in a 100-year scenario.”
Gourley said historically, Orion has focused on multiple sources of energy, but solar has become a priority.
“We believe there should be a healthy mix of different energy sources contributing to the grid and we just want solar to be a part of that,” he said.
 
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