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Here is an example of how the promise of big money can influence: The “members of the Mohawk School board respectfully ask that you reconsider the limiting solar ordinance". This letter was sent to the North Beaver Township supervisors.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pbjejnbJrICQTclCbkSV06GyGK6FZ3io/view?pli=1 There is more: "The (Mohawk School) district’s administration signed a “contribution agreement” to accept the funds should the Firefly project commence. The district by accepting would stand to collect $10 million from Vesper over the 40 years of the project, according to a district-generated news release." Learn more here
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Watch footage from a drone as it lifts off from a back yard and does a panoramic view of the industrial solar fields surrounding the house and farms in Illinois. (No sound).
Vote responsibly on November 7th and let’s keep industrial solar ON industrial land and OFF prime farmland! And: Like, Follow and Share More About Solar so other can see what this could look like. https://www.facebook.com/clint.beach.1/videos/786428169141459 Note, this was to be a 3 part series, but thanks the Mr. and Mrs. Musser reaching out; we learn how the solar company is still using their influence of big money to buy favor.
By Debbie Wachter | New Castle News Oct 21, 2023 (Part 4 of 4) A North Beaver Township couple whose dairy farm dates back to the Revolutionary War says they’ve received a proposed contract from Vesper Energy with a generous money offer to keep them from bad-mouthing a proposed solar farm project in their area. The contract proposal from Vesper Energy of Allen, Texas, arrived at the Musser’s North Beaver Township dairy farm, which dates back to the Revolutionary War, by FedEx delivery Aug. 14, Betsy Musser said. She and husband Dennis own 213 acres on Hope Road bordering the SNPJ camp. They raise 350 dairy cows and also have a herd of beef cows. The Mussers are emphatic they don’t want to lease their prime farmland for Vesper’s proposed Firefly Solar project, which would generate electricity for business and industry, despite the company’s $30,000 offer to keep them from talking negatively about the project. They said in a recent phone interview that they did not sign the proposed shut-up contract, nor do they intend to sign it. “I’m against solar in any place on top of crop grounds,” Dennis Musser, 73, said. “Also, they’ll cut the timber wherever they go and there won’t be any woods left, and there won’t be any hunting grounds because the safety zones will be within 150 yards of it. “This solar project is a joke, in my opinion,” he said. “I’ve never gotten involved politically in anything, until now.” The Musser farm originated from a Revolutionary War grant, and the Mussers’ daughter, Cassie, 30, will be the eighth generation to take it over. The home farm is in agricultural preservation, as is Betsy Musser’s nearby family farm where she was raised, another 130 acres the family farms for crops and beef grazing on Mount Air Road. They also have rental acreage. The Vesper contract proposal arrived with no cover letter, Betsy said, and the return address is from Jessica Stephens, a company representative in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “It’s a formal contract in legal jargon, with my wife’s and my name,” Dennis Musser said. “If we would sign it, on that date they’ll pay us $10,000 but we cannot say anything derogatory about this solar project. When they start construction, they would pay us another $30,000 and we can’t say anything. This is what they call the ‘good neighbor’ policy. “It’s nothing more than to keep our mouths shut,” he said. The company’s contract form calls it the “project cooperation agreement.” It provides that upon payment, the property owner will not object to, or in any way oppose the construction, installation or operation of the project, and will not take any direct or indirect action opposing the company’s application for the project before any federal, state or local authority. The contract proposal also requires, once signed, the property owner be bound to confidentiality about it, except to potential purchasers of property. Area farm leases signed with Vesper three to five years ago in the North Beaver Township area are about to expire this year, according to some of the farmers and a Vesper spokesman. Vesper has been meeting with landowners to try to renew those leases and push for new interest in the proposed project that would provide electricity to businesses and industry. Betsy Musser, 59, commented, “I don’t have a problem with solar being on ground that’s not farmable, but I have a problem with using good ground for it, and I don’t understand why people don’t see that their food isn’t going to come from a grocery store. The good Lord gave us so much ground to feed ourselves. “I don’t know if anybody else got these letters,” she said. The Musser farm and the nearby Barth farm form a rectangle of land where the owners have not signed contracts to lease for the project, she said. EJay Fyke, community affairs manager of Vesper Energy, said the proposed agreements, such as the one the Mussers received, are “good neighbor agreements” for the landowners who are not leasing to them, “so they would get something out of it and we would get something out of it — somebody who’s not participating but their quality of life is changed.” Vesper has contacted such families dozens of times, along with leaders of the opposition to the project, and they were told the offers were coming in the mail, Fyke said, noting not all are the same. Some offers, in lieu of monetary compensation, guarantees like screening, allowing the neighbors to choose vegetation, changing the design, planting trees, building a driveway or installing a certain type of fencing. “It’s up to the neighbors and what they want to make this project amenable to them,” he said. “For them, it’s essentially, ‘if you’re unhappy with the project, this is a way that, if there’s people who feel they’re getting a raw deal, we try to address people’s concerns. They’re all tailored differently.” He said the company is focusing such offers on a handful of property owners who are closest to the project area. He noted Vesper also is making local donations to organizations, like $1,000 to the Lawrence County Fair toward its fireworks display. “We’re really trying to be a part of the community,” he said. “We’re trying to engage and become a part of the community, rather than being a faceless organization from Texas.” Vesper’s grant program allocates $30,000 a year, broken into various amounts, and it has given to United Way, a Little League organization and DON Services locally, Fyke said. If the project goes forth, Vesper also is trying to secure a local manufacturer for the project, to keep the money local, he said. [email protected] With photos: https://www.ncnewsonline.com/news/local_news/solar-dilemma-opposing-farm-owners-decline-vespers-money-offer/article_dc43c862-4048-11ee-8bc8-bf7a281c29d8.html By Debbie Wachter | New Castle News. (Part 3 of 4) Vesper Energy of Allen, Texas, has been trying to spread the positive word about the importance of solar energy generated from panels on farmland and the potential benefits to farmers, the environment and the economy. In promoting its proposed Firefly Solar project, its representatives took its information to a public open house in August at the Scottish Rite Cathedral. Fewer than 10 people attended, and a couple were farmers. A ripple of doubt has spread among the North Beaver Township farm community about what the leases on their farmland would offer them and what their liabilities might be, should they lease their land for solar power. State lawmakers now are looking at tax incentives to get solar companies to locate on other types of land where it’s less invasive than on prime agricultural acreage. Representatives of Vesper and the Pennsylvania Conservative Energy discussed the benefits of solar energy and the company’s plans to lease farmland in North Beaver, which were halted two years ago when the township supervisors adopted an ordinance limiting commercial/industrial solar energy generation to industrial zones only. Vesper did not appeal the township decision to court within the 30-day window. One farmer who signed a lease with Vesper challenged the ordinance with the state Office of the Attorney General, but his challenge was denied. Thus, the ordinance stands. FARMLAND BILL State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-33) has introduced a bill that would prohibit large-scale solar project developments on prime Pennsylvania farmland. Senate Bill 798 would not allow development on land considered prime, or best for farming and crop production, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service in classes of I, II, III and IV. The bill would create a state tax credit program unavailable in any other state to provide incentives for solar companies to develop on alternative sites, such as brownfields or old industrial lots, abandoned strip-mined land, capped landfills, warehouse rooftops and surface parking lots. The bill is in the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. State Sen. Elder Vogel, committee chairman who owns a dairy farm in Beaver County, said he agrees with the bill. “You’d be tying up good farmland for 30 to 40 years for a small amount of rent, and at some point, we’re going to run out of farmland,” he said. “That’s a lot of time for a generation of a family to come and go.” WHAT FARMERS SAY The largest farm advocacy groups in the state, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and the Pennsylvania State Grange, support policies that protect prime farmland from large-scale solar developments. Clifford Wallace, a North Beaver farmer and the Beaver-Lawrence Farm Bureau president, said an immediate concern of farmers is ensuring that the solar energy company posts an appropriate bond to reclaim the land, should the company go bankrupt. He said farmers prefer class I and II soil for its organic matter and farmability, while solar companies might prefer it for its convenience. “We’re not against solar — it’s going to be a piece of future policy, but there are thousands of acres of reclaimed strip mine with little topsoil within this county, and only a little bit of that was included in the Vesper project,” Wallace explained. “From our standpoint, if you want to put solar in, why not use that land? It will have minimal impact on the production of crops and can produce a tremendous amount of energy.” Wallace said the farmers have unanswered questions about Vesper’s proposed contracts and their renewal clauses. “Once the properties go into use, they’re probably going to stay in, long-term, and you’ll see renewals and updates of technology, but these are all question marks that we have,” Wallace said. Vesper was looking to lease about 2,700 acres initially, in North Beaver Township, Wallace said. The company has invested money in surveying and identifying wetlands, trees and setbacks, which reduces their actual project size to about 1,300 acres, and the prime farmland is the remaining piece of land that can be used, Wallace pointed out. “We’re in a sweet spot here, where we’re having good production of crops in this county. We need to look at what we should be doing with our land and what will be the right thing as you look back in 50 years.” He noted that Vesper “jumped into a situation where the company was able to acquire a lot of land to create a system at low cost, now it is spending time trying to justify its project. “It’s not black and white,” Wallace said. “It’s very gray and very concerning. It involves the future of America, and we should do the right thing. Should we sacrifice our best land?” Wallace, who attended Vesper’s open house, pointed out that the potential for bankruptcy of any company leasing solar land is a big concern of farmers. “Will it be the same company in 40 years? Probably not,” he said, adding electricity cost increases would lower shares paid to those leasing land. “There’s very little in writing that guarantees anything in these leases. There are a lot of promises.” WHAT VESPER IS SAYING Company representatives and other proponents of the project who sat in a roundtable at the open house discussed what they believe are the positives of solar farmland energy and promoting the project. Joe Torkelson, Vesper’s manager of development, admitted the company’s biggest interest in the project is capital, and its focus is southwestern Lawrence County — North Beaver Township in particular — where there is contiguous farmland. He said they’re trying to build a community presence and have lease agreements with 25 or 26 landowners in the area with most on five-year agreements. The company isn’t saying how many of those farmers have renewed them. The long-term lease options are for 20 to 30 years with an option to extend them another 10 years, he said. “After 40 years we would decommission the sites,” Torkelson said. EJay Fyke of Vesper explained in an email that decommissioning a project is a traditional step in operations as the company ensures the project adheres to its contractual obligations with the landowners and commitments made with host communities. “Once the project has reached the end of its operational life, decommissioning the project equipment provides the opportunity for the ground to return to farming practices if the landowner chooses,” he said. For the landowner, a lease with Vesper would generate $800 to $1,200 per acre per year, Torkelson estimated, and the taxing value on the land would increase. That could also mean that the landowners’ taxes would increase with an increase in assessed value. He said that while the project’s lifespan is estimated at 25 to 30 years, local government entities promised an annual $250,000 would reap those payments beyond that, for 40 years. The Mohawk Area School District accepted an offer for the money, should the project transpire, but the North Beaver supervisors and the Lawrence County commissioners have balked at signing similar agreements. The company would post bonds through the townships, he said. After the life of the project, the glass panels would be recycled and the farmland they occupy would be returned to tillable acreage. However, questions have been asked about the recycling viability of the panels and if there would be a market for it in two or three decades. Seven- or eight-foot-high fencing with barbed wire around the sites is a requirement, Torkelson added. He said that Vesper would use the generated electricity from its solar panel system to sell to businesses and industries for profit. Fyke estimated the economic impact at $300 million a year and would create 300 construction jobs. About six or seven jobs would be permanent to maintain the panel sites. Right now, the township ordinance restrictions are preventing the company from continuing with the project, Fyke said. He said that money offered to the school district, county and township “is to show our commitment” and to let them know that not only the company would be making money from it. A consultant and an advocate for Vesper’s project, Jonathan Baxter, said farmers could conceivably grow shorter crops if the panels are raised to 10 feet. He said sheep, because of the lamb market, would be a fit, while goats would not because they tend to chew wires. PROVEN RESULTS Penn State entered into a 25-year solar power agreement with Lightsource bp, a subsidiary of British Petroleum, for a 70-megawatt project consisting of 150,000 solar panels across roughly 500 acres at the university’s Mont Alto campus in Franklin County. The system, in place since 2020, provides 25 percent of Penn State’s statewide electricity needs, according to the university. Penn State estimated it would save about $600,000 in energy costs over the first two years of the agreement and $14 million over the entire 25-year contract. A news release from Penn State said it began buying 100 percent renewable energy generated from the three solar farms and has already exceeded savings expectations of about $2.5 million in energy costs. [email protected] With photos here: https://www.ncnewsonline.com/news/local_news/solar-dilemma-vesper-continues-push-for-north-beaver-solar-farms/article_275cce3c-3623-11ee-88e5-8776203c3c54.html Print to hand out with family and friends. Make sure they know! https://www.moreaboutsolar.com/uploads/1/4/2/1/142183249/solar_flier.pdf  By Debbie Wachter | New Castle News (Part 2 of 4)
(Second in a series) Controversy against a proposed North Beaver Township solar energy project erupted in 2021 after Vesper Energy of Texas approached farmers to lease prime land and install contiguous glass panels to produce large-scale electrical power. The concept was enticing to farmers who wanted to generate more income from their agricultural land. But there were cautions during leasing, and one local farmer shared his own dealings with the company to date have left him unsure about what will happen next. The North Beaver Township supervisors, in reaction to opposition, adopted an ordinance restricting commercial and industrial solar systems to industrial properties. That prevented Vesper from commencing with three- to five-year leases it already entered with farmers on their land. One of its leases was with 71-year-old Herman Cvetan, who operates a 200-acre farm in North Beaver Township. Cvetan, interviewed in early September, said about 20 to 25 farmers entered agreements with Vesper. Most of those are now expired or will expire around December. Meanwhile, Vesper came into Lawrence County this summer trying to rejuvenate interest in the proposed project. It sponsored an informational public open house in midsummer at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, and according to Cvetan, it treated some of the land owners to a restaurant lunch to regenerate interest in lease renewals. He said he was one of only about five farmers to attend the luncheon. North Beaver ordinance precludes the company from locating its solar energy-generating equipment on any agricultural land. The measure also requires a company installing a commercial/industrial solar system in an industrial area to put bond money up front to ensure when the system might someday be decommissioned, 85 percent of the cost would be in place to pay for its removal and disposal. The ordinance does allow private residents to have individual solar systems on their properties with guidelines. That gives farmers and other residents the right to put in their own solar systems for their own use. Vesper Energy had the option of filing an appeal to the ordinance to the Lawrence County Court of Common Pleas within a 30-day window after its adoption, but it did not seek that legal remedy. Instead, it is looking to the landowners to spread a good word in trying to change the situation, Cvetan said in a recent phone interview. A FARMER’S ATTEMPTED REMEDY Cvetan said that upon advice from Chad A. Forcey, executive director of the Pennsylvania Conservative Energy Forum which advocates for alternative energy use, he filed action on March 28, 2022, through the state Office of the Attorney General, seeking a remedy to the ordinance under the state Agriculture, Communities and Rural Environment (ACRE) Act. Forcey participated in the recent open house Vesper Energy hosted at The Cathedral, where fewer than 10 residents attended. Cvetan’s action before the attorney general was conceivably the first solar claim of its kind filed in Pennsylvania under ACRE, Forcey said during the open house roundtable discussion. ACRE remedies ensure ordinances local governments adopt to regulate normal agricultural operations do not violate state law. Cvetan said his filing was on behalf of the 20 to 25 landowners who entered leases with Vesper. His name appeared online on the state filing. He proposed to allow the installation of the photovoltaic system on his North Beaver farm, according to his filing with the state, and he contended the township ordinance violates his right to farm. “This ordinance is unduly restrictive and strips away the right of farmers, and farmers alone, from using their land to produce solar energy,” Cvetan claimed in his letter to the state agency. North Beaver Township Solicitor Louis M. Perrotta had sent the state agency a response letter with the township’s position, saying the ordinance complies with Act 38 of 2005, which ensures local government exercises its responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of its citizens in regulating normal agricultural operations, and not unlawfully prohibit or limit a normal agricultural operation. Perrotta’s letter noted the supervisors adopted the solar ordinance to permit solar uses within the township with appropriate limitations for public safety, health and welfare. Cvetan said he received a letter a few months ago from the attorney general’s office saying the agency dismissed his filing. The attorney general’s website merely said Cvetan’s appeal is “denied.” INITIAL PLANS A Vesper land leasing agent a few years ago approached farm owners in the township about leasing their fields to create a solar electrical power grid to be primarily in North Beaver Township but extend to neighboring municipalities, including SNPJ Borough. The representative at the time told the supervisors the company’s plans were to establish a 400-megawatt system on 2,500 farmland acres in and around the township. He said the plans were to start building the $400-million system by the end of 2023. When finished, it would provide a million kilowatt hours, or 60,000 ohms, of electricity per year. He said there was no buyer yet for the electricity. The township has three industrial zones, the largest off Route 18. Others are off Edinburg Road and Route 317 before the Bessemer Borough line. “The leases are starting to run now out,” Cvetan said of Vesper’s three-to-five-year agreements with the farmers. He said it was his understanding leases would automatically renew with increases in payments, but the company is now facing farmers asking for four or five stipulations before agreeing to terms. One is that the township ordinance be overturned. Another stipulation is the amount of money Vesper is willing to pay on a per-acre lease. “We wanted $50, and they came back with an offer of $40,” Cvetan said. “We wanted $1,200 per acre once the company would start selling electricity. They offered $1,000 per acre at first, and we wanted $1,200 on the ground where the panels would be located. “Right now, the farmers have a certain number of acres leased, but not all of that land can be used,” he explained, “and out of 100 acres, you may actually get 30 to 40 acres (where the panels are located). We countered for $1,200 and they told us, $1,100.” Vesper told the farmers when the project is decommissioned in 30 to 40 years, “we’ll all be gone and this will be for our heirs,” and the farms can go back into production, Cvetan said. “There are many, many unanswered questions with this outfit,” he said of Vesper, adding, “They’ve been kind of disappointing for us. “Everyone’s opinion when we left that luncheon was that they just put this right back onto us to get this going, and to see if we could get the ordinance changed,” Cvetan said. “Right now with what is happening, we’ve lost some landowners who were plainly disgusted and said we’re done dealing with them and aren’t signing leases. “They could offer $1 million an acre today and it would make no difference because we can’t get rid of the ordinance,” he said. REPEAL SOUGHT Cvetan said he still disagrees with the township ordinance because it dictates his rights of how to use his farmland. He has filed a nominating petition to run as an independent candidate for township supervisor in the Nov. 7 general election, and if he is elected, one of his goals will be to try to overturn what he calls an unfair ordinance His campaign mailers are paid for by a political action committee called R.E.D. PAC, which is based in Austin, Texas, according to its website. “They’re telling us how to run our farms,” he said of the current board of supervisors. Since adopting the ordinance, the supervisors have not budged in their decision. Supervisors Grant McKinley and Scott Barth voted in favor of enacting the ordinance. Barth reasoned at the time Vesper wanted to cover about one-tenth of the township in solar panels. Supervisor Jerry Tillia voted against the ordinance. McKinley, a Republican, is seeking reelection to his seat for six more years, and Cvetan will oppose him in the Nov. 7 race. “Nothing has changed,” McKinley commented. “Mr. Cvetan lost his case. We’re solid in our ordinance.” Neighboring New Beaver Borough Council also unanimously adopted a solar ordinance July 10, placing regulations on solar energy systems constructed within the borough. Little Beaver Township, which neighbors North Beaver Township, adopted an ordinance similar to that of New Beaver Borough, regulating solar energy systems within the township, but Little Beaver Township has no zoning ordinance that would restrict the solar panels on farmland, explained Supervisor Robert Kuhn. He said Little Beaver’s ordinance is standard and places certain restrictions on solar systems. New Beaver and Little Beaver share the same solicitor, Ryan Long. “We’re really in the middle and not taking a stand right now,” Kuhn said of the solar issue. “We’re just doing what’s best for the township and talking with our solicitor about it.” (Tomorrow: As farmers grow more reluctant, Vesper Energy representatives discuss the advantages of solar farms at a recent open house.) [email protected] With photos here https://www.ncnewsonline.com/news/local_news/solar-dilemma-solar-ordinance-divides-farmer-supervisors/article_7f017770-3608-11ee-bf5d-9b4d30b06dc2.html By Debbie Wachter | New Castle News (Part 1 of 4)
A Texas energy company with its sights set on installing shoulder-to-shoulder solar energy panels on contiguous prime farmland in North Beaver Township is facing an uphill struggle to continue with its proposed project for electricity generation. But should the political climate for the venture change and its plans materialize — and in an effort to promote its goodwill in the area — Vesper Energy of Allen, Texas, has promised to pay the Mohawk Area School District $250,000 a year annually for 40 years if its project materializes. The school district accepted that offer. Vesper’s proposed project, Firefly Solar, would create a 200-megawatt solar energy network on prime farmland, specifically in North Beaver. Vesper proposes the operation would create enough renewable, American-made energy to power a large number of homes and businesses while generating about $1.6 million per year in state and local tax revenue from operations. The solar farm concept, which first surfaced in western Lawrence County a few years ago, drew opposition from many residents who attended a public township supervisors meeting in 2021, protesting Vesper’s plans to install hundreds of lithium battery-operated panels on contiguously leased agricultural lands. The supervisors in a 2-1 vote at that time adopted a solar energy ordinance restricting the commercial/industrial use of solar panels to industrial zones designated on the township zoning map. That measure effectively has stymied the company’s options for leasing land for its solar venture. Reasons some residents cited for their consternation about the plans were the unsightliness of the panels as opposed to looking at rural farmland, concerns about the company staying in business for the project duration, its pledge of payment and terms in the leases with farmers, the continued upkeep of the system and panels, the inability to farm prime acres and what will happen to the panels after the project is decommissioned. The township ordinance requires a company establishing a commercial/industrial solar project to post a bond to cover 85 percent of the cost to pay for its someday removal and disposal when the project is decommissioned. Vesper’s financial pledge to the Mohawk school district was the same proposal it made last fall to the Lawrence County government via the county commissioners and to the North Beaver Township supervisors. Neither the county nor the township accepted the offer. The district’s administration signed a “contribution agreement” to accept the funds should the Firefly project commence. The district by accepting would stand to collect $10 million from Vesper over the 40 years of the project, according to a district-generated news release. Vesper proposed to the district, the county commissioners and the North Beaver supervisors if the project commences, it will also pay each of those governing entities the $250,000 a year for 40 years — beyond the life of the project, estimated to be 25 to 35 years — should the company’s plans come to fruition. That equates to $30 million total to all three governing bodies over the 40-year term the company has promised. Mohawk’s Solicitor Russell Lucas of the Pittsburgh law firm Andrews & Price LLC said in a phone interview the school board members have been made aware of its terms. “There’s really nothing that the district is promising to do, except to accept the money,” Lucas emphasized. “The district is not taking a position on the project.” He emphasized the district has no obligation to advocate for the project publicly or to pledge support. “That’s a pretty significant amount of money and is not in lieu of taxes, and there is no quid pro quo,” Lucas said. The county commissioners, instead of accepting the offer, informed Vesper officials that they would respect the rights of the township officials who decided to prohibit the project on prime farmland. “We respect the wishes of the municipal officials, especially in those municipalities that have zoning ordinances,” Commissioner Chairman Dan Vogler emphasized. “If they decided not to allow these in certain zoned areas, we have no authority to overrule them, and we would respect their right to do that.” Erin Baker, Vesper’s director of development for the Firefly project, had sent an email to the commissioners in September, offering the same “community benefit agreement” to county government as it did to the school district. She wrote the company had made the same offer to North Beaver Township. “The commissioners have not signed anything to accept this,” Vogler said, adding that the commissioners have not heard anything more from the company in several months. “I respect the autonomy of local municipalities,” he said. “They don’t report to the commissioners, and I don’t believe as a commissioner that we should be trying to influence them.” Former Commissioner Morgan Boyd, who was chairman of the commissioners when that correspondence was received, responded in a return email last September that “the board of commissioners is going to refrain from taking any action on this proposal until such time as the North Beaver Township board of supervisors takes action on it.” North Beaver Supervisor Grant McKinley said that there are no plans to change or repeal the township ordinance, rather, “the ordinance is solid.” Firefly Solar in an attempt to gain momentum for its project has scheduled two meetings this week. The company has invited local landowners to a dinner Wednesday at Edward’s Restaurant in New Castle to educate them more about the proposed project and cleaner energy and what the company predicts would be a stronger economy. The solar company also has scheduled a noontime vendor open house at the American Legion ity to farm prime acres and what will happen to the panels after the project is decommissioned. The township ordinance requires a company establishing a commercial/industrial solar project to post a bond to cover 85 percent of the cost to pay for its someday removal and disposal when the project is decommissioned. Vesper’s financial pledge to the Mohawk school district was the same proposal it made last fall to the Lawrence County government via the county commissioners and to the North Beaver Township supervisors. Neither the county nor the township accepted the offer. The district’s administration signed a “contribution agreement” to accept the funds should the Firefly project commence. The district by accepting would stand to collect $10 million from Vesper over the 40 years of the project, according to a district-generated news release. Vesper proposed to the district, the county commissioners and the North Beaver supervisors if the project commences, it will also pay each of those governing entities the $250,000 a year for 40 years — beyond the life of the project, estimated to be 25 to 35 years — should the company’s plans come to fruition. That equates to $30 million total to all three governing bodies over the 40-year term the company has promised. Mohawk’s Solicitor Russell Lucas of the Pittsburgh law firm Andrews & Price LLC said in a phone interview the school board members have been made aware of its terms. “There’s really nothing that the district is promising to do, except to accept the money,” Lucas emphasized. “The district is not taking a position on the project.” He emphasized the district has no obligation to advocate for the project publicly or to pledge support. “That’s a pretty significant amount of money and is not in lieu of taxes, and there is no quid pro quo,” Lucas said. The county commissioners, instead of accepting the offer, informed Vesper officials that they would respect the rights of the township officials who decided to prohibit the project on prime farmland. “We respect the wishes of the municipal officials, especially in those municipalities that have zoning ordinances,” Commissioner Chairman Dan Vogler emphasized. “If they decided not to allow these in certain zoned areas, we have no authority to overrule them, and we would respect their right to do that.” Erin Baker, Vesper’s director of development for the Firefly project, had sent an email to the commissioners in September, offering the same “community benefit agreement” to county government as it did to the school district. She wrote the company had made the same offer to North Beaver Township. “The commissioners have not signed anything to accept this,” Vogler said, adding that the commissioners have not heard anything more from the company in several months. “I respect the autonomy of local municipalities,” he said. “They don’t report to the commissioners, and I don’t believe as a commissioner that we should be trying to influence them.” Former Commissioner Morgan Boyd, who was chairman of the commissioners when that correspondence was received, responded in a return email last September that “the board of commissioners is going to refrain from taking any action on this proposal until such time as the North Beaver Township board of supervisors takes action on it.” North Beaver Supervisor Grant McKinley said that there are no plans to change or repeal the township ordinance, rather, “the ordinance is solid.” Firefly Solar in an attempt to gain momentum for its project has scheduled two meetings this week. The company has invited local landowners to a dinner Wednesday at Edward’s Restaurant in New Castle to educate them more about the proposed project and cleaner energy and what the company predicts would be a stronger economy. The solar company also has scheduled a noontime vendor open house at the American Legion Post 343 on North Jefferson Street for contractors, skilled laborers and business owners to learn more about potential regional business partnerships once Firefly Solar enters the construction phase. (Tomorrow: A North Beaver farmer’s view of the ability to lease his land for solar energy use.) [email protected](mailto:[email protected]) Article with images (https://www.ncnewsonline.com/news/local_news/solar-dilemma-solar-ordinance-divides-farmer-supervisors/article_7f017770-3608-11ee-bf5d-9b4d30b06dc2.html) Look at what sources are saying the solar company has done in just the last 3 months:
Why is a Texas base R.E.D. PAC committee paying big money advertising mailers and pushing texts for Herm Cvetan? Are they getting ready for when Herm Cvetan gets elected as township supervisor to change their biggest road block, the solar ordinance? |
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