VIENNA — A representative of Vesper Energy, the company developing the Vichy Solar project in Maries County, joined the Aug. 17 county commission meeting to provide an update on the project.

Hannah Larkin, a development manager of Vesper Energy’s eastern division, attended the meeting to answer any questions the commissioners might have about the project. The last meeting between the commission and Vesper Energy was in early May when the company’s regional development director and two representatives from Azimuth Renewables, another solar energy company, attended a meeting. Vesper Energy bought the Vichy Solar project from Azimuth Renewables.

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman began by asking how the Vichy Solar project is coming along.

Larkin said the project is moving a little slower than another project Vesper Energy is developing in the township of Scopus in Bollinger County. She estimated Vichy Solar is about 25 percent of the way to being operational.

“There’s an interesting difference in people’s willingness to join the project and interest in the project,” she said.

Stratman asked if Vichy Solar and the Scopus project were comparable in size.

Larkin said both projects are 200 megawatts with solar plus storage. Both projects need about 2,800 acres for full site control though the actual site will only be about 2,000 acres. Vesper Energy needs full site control to determine the constraints for the panel layout.

Stratman asked if the solar panels will be high enough off the ground to do something with the surrounding land.

Larkin said the panels will be a few feet off the ground to provide some clearance for mowing and to minimize the risk of damage during a flood. Fencing will surround panel sites because of the liability of having people and deer near the panels. Sheep could enter the fencing around the solar panels to feed as part of Vesper Energy’s agrivoltaics practices.

Agrivoltaics is the use of land for both agriculture and solar photovoltaic energy generation. Through agrivoltaics, the land can maintain some of its agricultural roots by serving as a space for sheep to graze and clear out weeds. It also allows for the growth of crops on land with solar panels, but Larkin said right now no company is using agrivoltaics to grow crops at scale. Projects of that kind are in the research phase at universities and companies.

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel asked if Vesper Energy is in charge of who puts sheep on the land or if the land owner is in charge of it.

Larkin said the company is in charge of it. She said the company usually brings in a local flock. If there is not a local flock to bring onto the land, then the company will probably opt to mow the area surrounding the panels.

Drewel asked if landowners could decline to have sheep brought onto their property.

Larkin said the lease agreements that Vesper Energy signs with landowners discuss agrivoltaics, so landowners may opt out at the time of signing the contract.

Stratman asked how far apart the panels sit.

Larkin said the spacing is typically big enough to fit a mower, so panels tend to be 10 to 12 feet apart.

Drewel asked when Vesper Energy will start putting panels on the Vichy Solar site.

Larkin said the company will not start until it has full control and full design. Mid-2024 is the targeted date to begin construction, but that date could change if anything slows the process. Vesper Energy and other entities, such as utility provider Ameren, must complete several studies before construction can start.

Stratman asked if Vichy Solar would include battery storage for the energy it generates.

Larkin said the project will include battery storage so that when the sun is not shining Vesper Energy can still deploy power to the electrical grid. The battery will match the 200-megawatt capacity of the project.

Drewel asked about the destination of the power Vichy Solar will generate.

Larkin said she thinks the power will stay in Missouri because the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) manages all power transmission for this region of North America. MISO goes as far east as Michigan, as far west as Montanna, as far south as Louisiana and as far north as Manitoba, Canada. The organization directs the flow of power. City centers have the greatest need for power, so Vichy Solar’s output will likely go to load centers near major urban areas in the region.

“That’s where the need (for power) is greatest,” Larkin said. “Out here, you don’t have a need for additional power simply because your population is lower. You’re served by the existing grid.”

Drewel asked if the power might stay local and if local utility providers could purchase it.

Larkin said that the local providers could buy power through a real-time market, but MISO handles the tracing of electrons. Looking at its website could give insight into what direction the power will flow.

Drewel asked about a comparison to understand the value of 200 megawatts.

Larkin said 200 megawatts is enough energy to power about 40,000 homes.

Drewel asked where Vesper Energy gets its supplies.

Larkin said Vesper Energy works with two major solar panel manufacturers. One is in Mexico and the other is in the United States. The company buys cables from a U.S. manufacturer. Engineering procurement is local to the company’s projects. Construction companies bring in local laborers.

Drewel asked if any supplies came from overseas.

Larkin said she did not know of any.

In recent months, tariffs on solar panels from southeast Asia have been a topic of discussion on the federal level. In June 2022, the International Trade Administration adopted a suspension on the solar panel tariffs. Earlier this spring, both houses of Congress passed a resolution to reverse the rule and reimpose the tariffs. Less than two weeks after the Senate passed the resolution, President Joe Biden vetoed it.

Last Friday, the day after the commission meeting, publications such as CNN and Bloomberg reported that the recent conclusions of a Commerce Department investigation dating back to March 2022 had found five solar panel manufacturers in southeast Asia in violation of U.S. trade rules. Beginning next June with the end of the pause on solar panel tariffs, the companies will face new tariffs on U.S. imports.

Drewel asked about Vesper Energy’s total investment in Vichy Solar.

Larkin estimated an initial investment of about $5 million. She said over the first 20 years of the contracts, the company expects to pay about $40 million in payments to landowners.

Stratman said $5 million did not sound like a lot of money to start out when compared to other energy providers such as dams or nuclear power plants.

Larkin said in a previous job, she worked on gigawatt-scale wind energy projects, which were an investment of about $3 billion. One gigawatt is equal to 1,000 megawatts.

Stratman asked about a solar project under development near Dixon that the commission had discussed during its last meeting with solar companies.

Larkin said she thinks Azimuth Renewables is still overseeing the Dixon project because Vesper Energy did not buy that project.

Stratman said if that project pays landowners like Vichy Solar will pay them, then that will be a lot of money coming into the county over the next couple of decades.

Larkin said there will also be tax payments on the solar panels. The exact tax value of solar panels according to the state is still under discussion. The land will convert from agricultural land to commercial land for tax purposes once the project is live.

Drewel asked if the name of the project affects how the company pays taxes on it. He wanted to know if calling Vichy Solar a “solar farm” would cause it to be agricultural land.

Larkin said the name does not matter and either way it will be a commercial business once it starts generating power. She estimated that would be somewhere in the range of late 2025 and early 2026.

“When you’re building, there will be a number of workers here, some local,” Stratman said. “But when it’s completed, two or three people would be about it?”

Larkin said that is what Vesper Energy expects because Vichy Solar will be a relatively small facility and will not require much maintenance. The company will monitor operations from a base in Texas. Local workers will help maintain and manage the land at the project site.

Drewel asked how much landowners typically make on contracts with Vesper Energy.

Larkin said contracts typically pay about $800 per acre with escalation for inflation during the operation period.

Drewel asked about the renewal of the contract. At the last meeting with the solar companies, the company representatives told the commission that renewal clauses are at the discretion of the company.

Larkin confirmed that at the expiration of a contract’s 20-year period, Vesper Energy may choose to renew the contract. The company’s contracts usually include three renewal options at 10 years each, so if it chooses, it may renew the lease agreement for a total of 50 years. She also said the contract stays with the land rather than the owner, so if someone buys — or inherits — the land it will still be under contract.

Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre asked what would happen if a natural disaster ruined the panels and Vesper Energy could no longer make money off the production. He wanted to know if the landowners would still receive payment.

Larkin said the panels are rated to withstand several kinds of severe weather, so the chances of the panels going down long enough to impact production are very small. If it would occur, the company has force majeure clauses in its contract to handle those types of issues. Usually, time binds those clauses, so they would specify a certain amount of time that has to elapse without production to trigger a stop in payments.

Drewel said he would like to see a copy of the contract that landowners sign. Larkin said she could let him look at one, but she did not have one available at the time of the meeting.

Stratman asked if contracts allow Vesper Energy to convert the project to another kind of energy production.

Larkin said the company only has the rights to develop solar projects on the property it leases. Contracts also allow for ancillary services such as a substation.

Drewel asked if the area is suitable for wind power.

Larkin said there are too many constraints for wind power in the area. Wind projects usually occur in the western U.S. where land is more open without as many trees and birds. Those projects also require larger plots of land. Wind projects need about 100 acres per megawatt, but solar projects need about 10 acres per megawatt.

Drewel asked if this area is more suitable for solar panels than the western U.S.

Larkin said the reason for solar projects in this region is more of an issue of need rather than suitability. The intensity of the sun in places like Arizona works well for solar energy production, but infrastructure does not exist to take the power from Arizona and bring it to the Midwest.

Drewel asked how many acres of land Vesper Energy has acquired for Vichy Solar so far.

Larkin said the company has entered agreements with landowners on about 400 or 500 acres so far. She expects that will double soon as negotiations continue with landowners in the area.

Drewel asked if any of the construction would happen on the site of the Rolla National Airport.

Larkin said she planned to meet with the City of Rolla after the commission meeting about doing work on the airport property. Vesper Energy responded to a request for proposals and won the lease on about 400 acres.

Fagre asked about the depth of the environmental studies conducted before construction begins.

Larkin said environmental studies include checks for sensitive species in the area, mapping wetlands and identifying sensitive cultural sites. Most of that work happens before the company starts leasing land, but it will investigate in the field before construction to ensure that all the desktop studies are correct.

Vesper Energy does a quarterly community grant program in areas where it develops projects. Local organizations can apply and receive up to $5,000 in funds. The program will begin here in this quarter. The commission gave Larkin several ideas for organizations that could be interested in the program.

Before the discussion ended, Larkin said Vesper Energy handles decommissioning Vichy Solar when the project reaches its conclusion. The company will remove all the facilities and restore the land to its original condition. The earliest decommissioning would happen is five years after the project goes live.

Larkin said she is a resource for the commission and the community and will be available to answer any questions they have about Vichy Solar in the future. She said in the future she can update the commission any time the project has a major milestone.

Propane bids

Bidding closed for the county’s propane. Dickneite Oil and Propane Company had the lowest bid at $1.499. The other bids were $1.59 from Lock’s Mill Propane, $1.64 from MFA Oil, $1.749 from Capital Energy Co. and $1.79 from Goodrich Gas Inc.

Stratman said the county will pay about 40 cents per gallon less for propane this year than it did last year.

Road Work

Stratman said that at a recent Transportation Advisory Committee meeting he heard updates about road work in the region. Work should begin on the bridge on Highway 28 in late September or early October. Another project on Highway 28, pavement resurfacing from Highway 63 to Highway 50, is expected to be awarded to a contractor in November.

Two projects have expected contract award dates in 2025. The bridge improvements over Fly Creek and the Maries River will take place on Highway 42. Bridge improvements over the Maries River and the Little Maries River will take place on Route AA.