Questions raised in hearing on proposed solar farm project in Scotts Bluff County - Scottsbluff Star Herald

Questions raised in hearing on proposed solar farm project in Scotts Bluff County

Members of the Scotts Bluff County Planning Commission voted Tuesday to table the granting of a conditional use permit (CUP) related to a solar energy project.

The project in question was proposed by Situla Energy Project LLC, a holding company of California-based Dunlieh Energy, and seeks to construct a commercial solar energy farm in the southwest part of the county.

A public hearing regarding the project was held at the county administrative, with dozens of county residents in attendance.

After a short presentation recapping the permit application, community concerns and questions were addressed by Ethan Jahnke, senior project manager at 2DOT Consulting, the firm that arranged the application on behalf of Situla.

These questions ranged from environmental impacts to financial and safety concerns.

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Several speakers expressed concerns about components or substances from the solar panels and batteries contaminating the land or water at the project site, along with concerns about how damaged or failing components would be disposed.

Jahnke responded that modern solar panels do not have the leaking issues that were brought up as concerns and the batteries are contained within a liquid cooling system that make fires, explosions or the release of any harmful substance unlikely.

“With old technology that may have happened, but that doesn’t happen anymore,” Jahnke said. “The batteries are lithium ion, but everything is contained.”

As for what will be done with damaged panels, Jahnke said the company’s intention is to recycle the equipment through specialty services that do so in bulk.

“They’re hard to recycle,” he said. “It’s a process, so when you do it en masse you can get it done, and you can get $9 or $10 back per panel.”

Others asked why a company in California would be interested in establishing such a facility in western Nebraska. Jahnke said that Nebraska is ranked 13th in the nation for solar energy potential, making the identified land very desirable for such a purpose.

District 48 Senator Brian Hardin came forward to present his own set of concerns to the commissioners connected to the Sentinel Missile Project spanning nearby Banner County and several other counties in the region.

Hardin implied that the time and place of Situla’s energy project proposal was “strange” when compared to the missile project.

“They could not have chosen a more sensitive place and time. Why is that?” Hardin said. “I can assure you that Strategic [Air] Command in Bellevue, Nebraska,, congressman Adrian Smith, as well as the attorney general are aware of your proposed energy project, its location and its curious timing.”

Hardin went on to say that unspecified federal organizations will have questions of their own pertaining to the energy company’s ownership, even implying that foreign influence could be involved in business practices, manufacturing, software development, etc.

“Buried beneath the layers of LLCs, is there Chinese, Russian, Iranian or North Korean ownership?” Hardin asked.

Hardin followed his comments with a recommendation that the planning commission pause the permit approval process until more information can be gathered on the topic.

Other concerns were brought forward related to the condition of Stegall Road, which would act as the main artery for the project’s construction traffic, and the further deterioration that the traffic could cause. Some residents also expressed anxiety about effects on property values and how the project would benefit the county and its people.

Jahnke was later joined by Dunlieh Energy vice president of business development Scott Ickes, who thanked those present for voicing their concerns and encouraged a continued dialogue.

“This is fantastic for us to hear,” Ickes said. “This is why we’re here, we want to get the feedback from the community, and we relish the opportunity to address each and every one of these issues and systematically answer them. We accept that if we can’t do that, we don’t expect to get the project approved.”

Ickes also attested to the track record of solar farms across the country and stated that many of the communities that house them likely had similar reservations that were eventually resolved to the benefit of all parties.

“There are over 5,000 operating solar farms in the United States as of the end of July of this year,” he said. “Five thousand six hundred projects have gotten done, so a lot of these challenges have been solved. We’re committed to doing that and being good partners with the county and the State of Nebraska.”

The planning commission approved a motion to table the discussion of the project until more information could be gathered to aid in the decision making process.

Building and zoning director Bill Mabin said that the issue will be put on a future planning commission agenda within the next few months once adequate discovery efforts have been made.

Contact Fletcher Halfaker: fletcher.halfaker@starherald.com, 308-632-9048.