Details of area solar farm discussed
CHRIS MOORE
ELISE MATZ
CHRIS MOORE
ELISE MATZ
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VULCAN -- Circle Power anticipates a labor budget of $20 million for construction of its Groveland Mine Solar Farm in Dickinson County, with the most likely timetable being a 2025 start, Norway Township officials learned Tuesday.
Company representatives provided that information as union leaders voiced support during a public hearing on a conditional use permit for the 429-acre project, which would include 203 acres in Norway Township.
"Circle Power has done their due diligence," said Ryan Stern, staff representative for the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council based in Marquette.
The $20 million estimated labor cost is up from a $12 million figure stated during a township meeting in October. The project had met opposition from about a dozen citizens during that session, but no protests were lodged Tuesday.
The township's planning commission, which conducted the hearing, will meet later this month to act on the application.
"I'm a hundred-percent go with the project," Township Supervisor Donald Byczek said.
Circle Power is about two weeks away from submitting a zoning application to Sagola Township and about a month away from doing the same in Felch Township, said Chris Moore, vice president of development. With the permitting process ongoing, installation starting in 2025 is the most likely schedule, he said.
The 120-megawatt solar project delivers benefits from a brownfield site that "has not been used by anything for 40 years," Moore said. It will repurpose the abandoned plant area, tailings basins and waste rock piles.
According to the company, visitors to the Groveland Ponds and other nearby fishing and hunting habitats will have the same access as today. The solar panels will be sited on land that has been closed to motorized traffic for decades, Moore said.
Groveland Mine is a 347-acre former iron mine site gifted to the state in the mid-1990s. In June 2020, the DNR put out a request for proposals to develop a large-scale solar array and Circle Power was awarded a lease a few months later.
In addition to zoning, the three townships are considering property tax contracts that would guarantee at least $12.4 million in new revenues over 30 years. Payments would go to the townships as well as Norway-Vulcan Area Schools, North Dickinson County Schools, the Dickinson-Iron Intermediate School district and county-wide entities.
Under Michigan's personal property tax rules, about $6.1 million would be paid in the first five years, said Elise Matz, Circle Power vice president of public affairs.
Overall, Groveland Mine Solar will require an investment of roughly $200 million. "The project's actual cost may vary significantly due to current market and economic conditions," Matz said.
The facility would generate enough electricity to power 17,600 homes annually. It will have its own substation that will send power to the electric grid through the Nordic Substation that formerly served the mine and is owned by American Transmission Company.
The solar farm's connection to the grid is controlled by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which sets the requirements for accepting new generation capacity. It could potentially be put into service in 2026 or 2027, Moore said. MISO approvals, he added, are subject to changes that could push the date beyond that.
Byczek, the township supervisor, noted court challenges could also lie ahead. A petition for a May 2023 referendum on the zoning application was denied by the township. That decision, which cited legal shortcomings, has been upheld at the circuit court level, Byczek said.
According to the permit application, fenced solar array fields will be sited only on areas that have been affected by mining. That includes rock piles found to be mostly flat on top, "the perfect place for us to put panels," Moore said. Ballasts for the solar arrays will be made of gabion baskets that can be filled with waste rock from the site itself.
The permitting process will include decommissioning agreements with the townships, detailing how the site will be restored after its use for energy. Money will be set aside by the developer to cover the cost.
It is likely Circle Power will transfer the completed project to a company that specializes in owning and operating power-generating plants, which may include a regulated public utility such as Upper Peninsula Power Co.
Township resident Ed Stedman sought assurances Tuesday the project's solar panels won't be purchased from China.
Moore and Matz explained the market for panels continues to evolve, and Groveland's panels may be acquired from outside the U.S., but China has been ruled out because of tariffs.
In addition to the property tax guarantee, Circle Power promises a $25,000 grant to fund recreation projects in the Groveland Pond area, as well as $25,000 recreation grants to each of the three townships. The company will also contribute $50,000 to the Dickinson Area Community Foundation to endow annual scholarships of $1,000 each at Norway-Vulcan and North Dickinson County schools.
The developers have signed an agreement with the U.P. Building Trades Council to guarantee the project will be built with skilled union labor. Other labor and trade groups supporting it include the Upper Peninsula Construction Council, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 906, Operating Engineers 324, Laborers' Union Local 1329 and Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights Local 1510.
The project is being developed through Circle Power's affiliate, Copper Country Power I LLC. Circle Power is backed by Amber Infrastructure and its U.S. parent, Hunt Companies Inc.
The Norway Township conditional use permit application can be found online at https://norwaytwpmi.com/.