In Brown County Commissioners Court Monday morning, a motion was approved to hold a town hall forum for discussion only regarding a possible tax abatement with IP Radian.
The town hall will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 14 at the Adams Street Community Center. Both sides will be allowed 50 minutes to present their side.
A large solar power plant has been proposed for southwestern Brown County, near Brookesmith. The company that would construct and operate the plant is Intersect Power of San Francisco, California. The project would be constructed on approximately 3,000 acres, and would include:
- Photovoltaic (PV) modules
- DC-to-AC inverters
- Medium and high-voltage electric cabling
- Tracker racking system (mounting structures)
- Project substation, which will include a high-voltage transformer, switchgear, transmission equipment, telecommunications and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) control equipment, and all necessary equipment needed to connect the project to the substation and subsequently to a transmission line not owned by the project
- Operations and maintenance building including telecommunications and computing equipment
- Meteorological equipment to measure solar irradiance and other weather conditions
- Associated equipment to safely operate, maintain, and deliver electricity to the grid
The proposed solar plant would generate up to 300 mega-watts (AC) of electricity, enough to power up to 50,000 homes. The project would be solar only, no wind turbines.
May 10 will be the date for a public hearing concerning creation of a reinvestment zone for the purpose of tax abatement to provide economic development within the county. This is in reference to the proposed solar farm by IP Radian, LLC near Brookesmith in southwest Brown County.