VIENNA — The Maries County Commission at its Jan. 2 meeting received an update on the Vichy Solar project Vesper Energy is working on in the county.

Vesper Energy is one of several solar companies the commission communicated with throughout last year. Vichy Solar is a commercial project facilitators have proposed as a 200-megawatt solar panel cluster and 200-megawatt battery energy storage system that will deliver energy to the electrical grid via an existing Ameren transmission line.

The last time the commission spoke with someone from the company was last September when development manager Hannah Larkin called as a follow-up to a meeting the previous month. She also sent the commission a sample lease agreement to show what landowners committed to the project had signed. At the time, Vesper Energy was still in the process of leasing land.

During a call with Larkin at the Jan. 2 meeting, the commission learned the company planned to start field work that day. Larkin said the work was weather-dependent, so it may have started later.

The first round of field work is wetland delineation. The consultants Vesper Energy hired will identify and map wetlands on the properties leased for the project. They will also identify if any of the land on the property is a habitat for an endangered or threatened species. The consultants planned to use public roads for the habitat assessment and leased land for the wetland delineation. The field work will take about one month.

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman asked about the size of the project area.

Larkin estimated that the project would take up about 1,750 acres.

Stratman asked about the timeline for the project.

Larkin said the project is on schedule to begin construction in 2025 so it can begin operation in 2026. For now, Vesper Energy is waiting on interconnection studies from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), an independent organization focused on managing the flow of high-voltage electricity throughout its region of North America. MISO’s coverage area goes as far east as Michigan, as far west as Montana, as far south as Louisiana and as far north as Manitoba. Once Vesper Energy gets the results of the studies, the next round of interconnection studies can begin.

Vesper Energy also plans survey work to possibly begin later this month. Larkin said contract negotiations had caused some delays, but she hoped the surveys could begin this month. She planned to call the commission to give another update once surveying started.

Stratman asked if the project could expand beyond the 1,750 acres already under contract if the project garnered more interest.

Larkin said the project could expand and that field work helps to gain interest because other landowners can see the project moving forward. By March, the company hopes to know the full scope of the project area.

Vesper Energy also has a desktop cultural study underway for the leased land. Larkin said it would not require any field work and she could let the commission know about some of the results of the study. The cultural study identifies any resources or characteristics of the land that would have significance to the National Historic Preservation Act or other groups, such as Native American tribes. If the study identifies any such resources, then the company would contact the appropriate groups before proceeding with the project.

The commission thanked Larkin for the update. She said she would let them know about new developments.