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OKAY FOLKS, IT IS SIX O'CLOCK.
[A. Presentation on Solar Utility in Virginia – Susan Seward]
WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO HAS COME OUT TONIGHT TO HEAR THIS, UM, SOLAR DEVELOPMENT IN VIRGINIA PROGRAM.AND I'D LIKE TO THANK SUSAN SEWARD AND ROBERT CROCKETT FOR PRESENTING TO US TONIGHT.
UM, SUSAN IS CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IN SUSSEX COUNTY AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE RURAL SOLAR DEVELOPMENT COALITION.
SO WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES HERE FROM PAIGE COUNTY.
AND SIR, I KNOW I'VE SEEN YOU, BUT I CAN'T CLARK COUNTY WELCOME TO BOTH OF YOU AS WELL AS, UM, ALL THE SUPERVISORS HERE FROM WARREN COUNTY.
AND I THINK WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE ZOOMING IN FROM HOME.
SO SUSAN, I WILL LET YOU GO FROM HERE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DOING THIS.
UM, TO BE ECONOMICALLY IN THE, UH, AND THE WAY THAT YOU GUYS APPROACH A UTILITY SCALE SOLAR DEVELOPMENT.
SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS TAKE YOU THROUGH SOME SLIDES.
UM, AND THEN WE CAN, UH, WE CAN TALK AS WE GO THROUGH.
IN FACT, I'LL JUST ASK YOU GUYS, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, ANYTHING AS WE GO THROUGH THE SLIDES, JUST STOP ME.
LET'S MAKE THIS CONVERSATIONAL IF WE CAN.
SO I, I'M NOT SURE WHO IS RUNNING THE SLIDES TONIGHT.
UM, UM, OUR CLERK, MRS. SHIRAKI CAN DO THAT IF YOU LIKE SO, SO BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER, DOES THAT SOUND OKAY TO YOU GUYS? YES.
OUR CLERK, MS. SHIRAKI I THINK SHE'S TRYING TO INITIATE YOUR SLIDES NOW.
SO, SO IS, IS THAT, IS THAT EMILY? UM, IS THAT RIGHT? IS THAT RIGHT? OH, GOOD.
SO EMILY, I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST, UH, AS, AS I GO THROUGH SLIDES, I'LL JUST ASK YOU TO ADVANCE AND DO SO POLITELY.
SO, UM, UH, PLEASE, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO, SO EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH SOAR SOLAR DEVELOPMENT, UH, STEMS FROM THE DEVELOPMENT OF CLEAN ECONOMY ACT IN 2019, WHICH REQUIRES, UH, THE STATE, SHE TOLD THESE PER YEAR 16, A THOUSAND MEGAWATTS OF SOLAR AND ONSHORE WIND AND FOR DOMINION.
AND WE'VE, UH, TALKED ABOUT THIS WITHIN OUR GROUP.
THAT MEANS THEY NEED TO EXECUTE A, ROUGHLY A 10,000 MEGAWATTS.
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250 PLUS SQUARE MILES OF SOLAR.SO, SO IN, IN 2021, THE YEAR AFTER, UM, THE TWO, COUPLE YEARS AFTER, AGAIN, OUR VISION WAS STILL TO MAKE THE COUNTY'S WHOLE FOR THE LENGTH OF A SOLAR GREEN AT ROUGHLY 35, 30, 35 YEARS, DEPENDING ON THE DEVELOPER.
AND THAT REALLY LOOKED AT, AT DOING A COUPLE OF THINGS.
SO THE INDEXING PER REVENUE, SOLAR SHARE REVENUE SHARE FOR SOLAR WAS A WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WASN'T A STATIC REVENUE SOURCE, UH, DOING THE SAME THING FOR ENERGY BATTERY STORAGE FACILITIES, AND THEN THE EXPANSION OF CITING AGREEMENTS TO INCLUDE ENERGY BATTERY STORAGE.
THEY WERE LIMITED TO, UM, SOLAR, YOU, US TO SCALE SOLAR OVER FIVE MEG, UH, NEXT SLIDE.
SO A COUPLE OF BILLS, AND THESE WERE THESE, THESE STEM FROM DEVELOPMENT OF OUR GROUP, UM, THAT CAME OUT OF OUR GROUP.
AND SO I'LL GO BACK INTO, UH, HB TWO TO SIX NINE.
SO IT RE IT, WE, WE NEGOTIATED, SPENT A LOT OF TIME TO GO SKATING WITH CHESS AND THE DEVELOPERS, UH, WISH WE COULD HAVE DONE BETTER, BUT WE EVENTUALLY LANDED ON A REVENUE SHARE INCREASE, UH, BY 10% BEGINNING, JULY 1ST, 2026, AND THEN EVERY FIVE YEARS THEREAFTER FOR THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT.
AND THAT APPLIES TO ENERGY BATTERY STORAGE AS WELL.
UM, AND SO THAT, THAT WAS AGAIN A, UH, UH, INITIATIVE RESULTING DIRECTLY FROM THE WORK OF THE ART OR STC AND THE, THE, THE, UH, THE PERSPECTIVE OF OUR MEMBERSHIP.
SO THIS IS A COUPLE OF OTHER BILLS AND, AND THIS REALLY HAS TO DO WITH, UM, WITH THE SAME THING.
THIS, THIS JUST EXPANDS IT INTO A REVENUE SHARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UH, ENERGY AND BATTERY STORAGE EQUIPMENT.
IT'S AGAIN, SAME PROCESS, 10% GAINING 7 1 2 TO 2026, AND THEN EVERY FIVE YEARS THEREAFTER.
SO, AND THEN THE LAST ONE, I WOULD MENTION, AGAIN, THE SITE INGREDIENT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST, UH, IMPORTANT PIECES OF LEGISLATION, UH, I THINK IN RURAL VIRGINIA, PROBABLY IN THE LAST SEVERAL DECADES.
AND SO WHAT, WHAT WE DID WAS, UH, WORKING WITH CHESA AND THE DEVELOPERS IS ACTUALLY EXPAND, UH, HOST SIDING AGREEMENTS, UH, FOR BATTERY AND ENERGY, UH, AND SMALL AND SMALL, SMALL SOLAR PROJECTS.
SO, IN, IN, I'M SORRY, SOMEBODY ASKED A QUESTION.
SO, SO, AND, AND THIS HAS REALLY BECOME MORE CRITICAL AS, UH, IN, IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT DEQ, UH, COMMUNICATION ON GUIDANCE FOR SOLAR FACILITIES.
AND THAT ALLOWS NON MS FOR COMMUNITIES MS, FOR BEING A LARGE MUNICIPALITY, UH, TO OPT OUT OF LOCAL REVIEW AND ADMINISTRATION OF, OF ENS ACTIVITY.
SO IT INCLUDES THE REVIEWS, THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON COMPLIANCE, UM, AND THEN A CERTAIN ACTION BY DEQ.
UM, AND, AND THIS WAS CONTINGENT ON FUNDING IN THE STATE BUDGET.
UM, AND THAT WAS APPROVED IN THE SPECIAL SESSION.
UH, IN 2021 PROVIDED TWO FTES TO DEQ FOR SOLAR, UM, ENS REVIEW.
AND IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, SOLAR, THERE WAS THE DEQ, UM, ENS DEPARTMENT WAS PROCESSING BETWEEN 30 AND 36 SOLAR PROJECTS ESTIMATED A YEAR IS, IS I THINK THE NUMBERS.
SO THOSE TWO FTE STILL WHILE IMPORTANT MEANS STILL NOT BE SUFFICIENT FOR THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS ON THEIR, ON THEIR PLATE.
SO, SO I'LL SPEND A COUPLE OF SLIDES ON THE SIDING AGREEMENT, BECAUSE WE, WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN, UH, IN THE ARTISTS' DC TALKING ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, TALKING ABOUT CITING AGREEMENT LANGUAGE.
WE KEEP A REPOSITORY FOR ALL OF THE CITING BRINGING THIS EXECUTED WITHIN THE RSD C COMMUNITIES AND, AND THAT'S THE, AND SO THE SIGNING AGREEMENTS DESIGNED TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE HOST LOCALITY, UM, TO INCLUDE SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO THEIR COMMUNITY.
SO IT PROVIDES FLEXIBILITY FOR COUNTIES, UH, WITH THEIR CIP.
AND SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, AND I'M GOING TO SCROLL, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
SO, SO SOME OF THE THINGS, UM, UM, THAT, THAT HAD BEEN DONE INCLUDE THE USES FOR BROAD BAN, A WATER TANK AND INFRASTRUCTURE EMERGENCY SERVICES FOR UNDERSERVED AREAS, TELEHEALTH, INTEL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES, AND UNDERSERVED AREAS.
GENERALLY COMMUNICATION TOWERS ARE
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NOT EMERGENCY NINE 11 TOWERS, AND THEN UNIQUELY FOR ONE COUNTY, THEY USE SOME OF THE FUNDING, THE SIDING AGREEMENT TO ENHANCE THEIR RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES.WE ESTIMATE THIS IS MY ESTIMATION LOOSE VALUE DECIDING AGREEMENTS IN RURAL VIRGINIA HAVE MET ABOUT, UH, UM, $150 MILLION IN GENERAL, UM, AND REVENUE FOR, FOR COUNTIES ACROSS VIRGINIA, AS A RESULT OF THE HOST SITE AGREEMENT, SINCE IT WAS FIRST EXECUTED.
UM, I WOULD SAY JUST TO STEP BACK AND WAIT FOR A SECOND ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WE CAN SPEAK TO, UM, OUR COUNTIES HAVE BECOME EXTRAORDINARILY, AND I THINK SUSAN WOULD AGREE WITH THIS IF SHE COULD JUST NOT, NOT SPEAK, UM, UM, ARE REALLY MATURE WITH RECOM WITH, WITH RESPECT TO THE WAY THAT DEVELOP THEIR SIDING AGREEMENTS.
THE FIRST DOMINION SELF-DEVELOPED SIGNING AGREEMENT WAS IN AN RSBC COUNTY, AND THAT WAS DONE IN, IN MO THERE WAS COLLABORATION DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT.
SO IN THAT COUNTY OBTAINED A 25,000 PER MEGAWATT, ESSENTIALLY THE PRICE TAG FOR DOMINION, SELF-DEVELOPING THAT PROJECT IN THAT COUNTY, WHICH WE BELIEVE SETS THE FLOOR FOR SIGNING AGREEMENTS MOVING FORWARD.
I HEAR THE, I HEAR A QUESTION.
SO, SO, UM, UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT WE DID IN THE OFF SEASON BEFORE WE GOT TO THE 23 AND 22 GENERAL ASSEMBLY, ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES WITH OUR ORGANIZATION WAS THE, UM, WAS THE EXEMPTION FOR SMALL CELL PROJECTS, SMALLER SOLAR PROJECTS.
AND THAT'S STILL THOSE PROJECTS LESS THAN, OR EQUAL TO FIVE MEGAWATTS.
AND THAT EXEMPTION WAS PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE THERE ARE FEES ON THE STREET TO DEVELOP SMALL CELL PROJECTS.
THERE'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER ONE COMING OUT FRIDAY.
UH, THAT'S GOING TO ACTUALLY ENCOURAGE MORE, MORE GROWTH IN THAT SMALL CELL ENVIRONMENT.
AND THEN THEY WERE ALSO INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING BETTER, UH, THE DECOMMISSIONING, MORE OF THE DECOMMISSIONING, THE BONDING IS STILL AN ISSUE, BUT THE DECOMMISSIONING OF, AND THE END OF LIFE OF THESE PROJECTS, SINCE WHEN THEY LEAVE, THEY COULD EITHER CONTINUE AS AN ENERGY SOURCE OR THEY CAN BE CONVERTED BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL USES.
AND I THINK THERE WAS, UH, UM, UM, UH, AGAIN, W WE ALL WANTED TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE SITE WOULD LOOK LIKE, UM, POST SOLAR ACTIVITY.
AND THAT, THAT WAS REALLY THE TWO THINGS IN THE OFF SEASON THAT OUR GROUP WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH.
AND THEN, UM, WE WORK CLOSELY WITH A LOT OF FOLKS AND TRYING TO WORK ON THESE THINGS, BUT, BUT SO, SO WHAT WE ENDED UP DOING WAS THE FOLLOWING.
SO, SO THERE WERE A COUPLE BILLS THAT WE, WE ACTUALLY, UM, DRAFTED AND NEGOTIATED WITH, UM, WITH BACO AND JOE LARGE, MANY OF YOU KNOW, AND, AND THAT WAS A, UM, UM, A MECHANISM, A LEGISLATIVE MECHANISM TO DIRECT THE STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION TO REVIEW THE IMPACT, UH, AGAIN, BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE, UM, FOR THE DECOMMISSIONING OF UTILITY SCALE, SOLAR PROJECTS AND ENERGY STORAGE ELEMENT, JOE AND I DRAFTED THAT LEGISLATION TOGETHER.
UH, WE BOTH, UM, COLLECTIVELY WORKED ON PROCURING PATRONS AND LOBBIED FOR THAT BILL AND SUSAN AND JOE WORKED A LOT, A LOT ON THE ADVOCACY PORTION ONCE, ONCE THE DRAFTING WAS DONE AND THE PATRONS WERE IN PLAY AND THAT BILL, UM, ROLL THROUGH UNANIMOUSLY IN BOTH CHAMBERS, AM I, IS THAT RIGHT, SUSAN? OKAY.
SO, UM, SO I'LL, I'LL GO ON FOR THE NEXT BILL WAS MORE OF A, UH, A NEGOTIATED, UH, ITEM FOR US, UM, BECAUSE, UM, IT REALLY INVOLVED, UM, WORKING WITH THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY.
SO I SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THE PHONE WITH, UH, PRIMARY, UH, LOBBYISTS AND LAWYER FOR CHESA IN VIRGINIA.
AND WE, WE, WE, WE EVOLVED INTO SENATE BILL 5 0 2 AND 10 87, WHICH BASICALLY, UM, REMOVED THAT EXEMPTION FOR SMALL SOLAR PROJECTS.
WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW, AND WHAT WE ENDED UP WORKING ON WAS BECAUSE SOME OF THESE PROJECTS WERE AS, AS THE DESCRIPTION PROVIDED TO ME WERE FULLY BAKED.
UM, WE, WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING THAT WOULDN'T AFFECT ANY PROJECTS BUILT, UM, AND APPROVED BEFORE JULY 1ST, 2022.
AND THEN THAT WAS A COMPROMISE TO GET THE FULL EXEMPTION MOVING FORWARD AFTER JULY.
UM, AND SO THAT WAS, AGAIN, THAT WAS AN, UH, RFDC NET LED INITIATIVE TO DO SOMETHING THAT WAS, WE THOUGHT PROBLEMATIC FOR THE REVENUE STREAMS OF THE COLLECTIVE COUNTIES THAT RIVERA PRESENTED SUSAN.
ANYTHING ELSE I WANTED YOU TO THAT I'M IF I'VE MISSED ANYTHING SO FAR? NO, I THINK YOU'VE GOT EVERYTHING.
UM, ONCE WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE SLIDES HAVE TAKEN A COUPLE NOTES, UM, UM, I DON'T KNOW,
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UM, THE, UH, FAMILIARITY WITH THIS GROUP RELATIVE TO THE VARIOUS REVENUE OPTIONS IN GENERAL.SO, UM, ON REVENUE SHARE, UM, YOU DIDN'T MENTION, UH, IT'S, IT'S $1,500 A MEGAWATT, I BELIEVE JUST, JUST TO THROW THAT OUT THERE, UM, IN CASE FOLKS DID NOT KNOW THAT.
AND, UM, IF YOU GO THE REVENUE SHARE OPTION, YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN REVENUE SHARE OR THE STEP DOWN MACHINERY AND TOOLS.
UM, AND THAT IS A LOCAL CHOICE ONCE YOU, UM, MAKE THAT DECISION, UH, YOU'RE BOUND TO IT FOR, UH, ALL PROJECTS REGARDLESS OF THEIR SIZE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT DISTINCTION IN CASE THIS, ANYONE WITH THIS GROUP WASN'T AWARE OF THAT, THAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO.
UM, IT, THE CODE OF VIRGINIA INITIALLY ESTABLISHED THAT, UM, SOLAR PROJECTS WOULD BE, UM, YOU WOULD USE YOUR MACHINERY AND TOOLS TAX, UM, TO VALUATE THE TAXATION ON THE PROJECTS.
THE BAD NEWS WAS, UM, OUT OF THE GATE, THEY WERE 80% EXEMPT.
AND THEN IN MANY CASES TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY, UM, PARTICULARLY IN RURAL VIRGINIA, YOUR IMMUNE T RATE IS USUALLY, UM, HIGHER AND IN SOME CASES SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN YOUR REAL ESTATE, RIGHT.
BUT THE MACHINERY AND TOOLS TAX THAT YOU APPLY TO SOLAR PROJECTS, IT'S, IT'S VALUATED LIKE YOU DO MNT, HOWEVER, YOU DON'T USE YOUR MNT, RIGHT? YOU USE YOUR REAL ESTATE, RIGHT? SO, UH, THAT'S ONE THING THAT ALSO MADE RURAL VIRGINIA PARTICULARLY ATTRACTIVE.
MOST OF US, CERTAINLY IN, IN SOUTHERN VIRGINIA, UM, OUR COUNTIES HAVE LOW REAL ESTATE RATES.
SO THESE PROJECTS WERE 80% EXEMPT FROM TAXATION.
AND THEN ON THE 20% WE TAXED, IT WAS THE EMIRATI, UM, PROCESS.
BUT INSTEAD OF USING THE INVENTORY, RIGHT, IT WAS YOUR REAL ESTATE RATE.
SO THAT IS WHY THE STEPPING DOWN, UM, TO GETTING THESE PROJECTS AFTER YEAR 10 TO 60% EXEMPT, UM, IS, UH, IS A SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT.
UM, SO YOU HAVE THAT METHOD TO TAX PROJECTS, OR, AND THIS IS WHERE THE RSCC WAS VERY INVOLVED.
UM, THERE IS A SIMPLER WAY IF YOU WILL, AND THAT'S THE REVENUE SHARE.
UM, AND THAT'S 1500 A MEGAWATT, UH, YEAR OVER YEAR FOR THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT INDEXED WITH A 10% INCREASE EVERY FIVE YEARS.
UM, AND IT'S THAT MEGAWATT, UM, DETERMINATION IS WHAT THEY FILE WITH PJM, UH, THE GRID OPERATOR.
SO IF THEY ARE, UM, UH, PERMITTED BY PJM TO OPERATE A HUNDRED MEGAWATT FACILITY, YOU WOULD DO YOUR MATH ON 1500 TIMES, A HUNDRED MEGAWATTS FOR THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT.
UM, TH THE GOOD NEWS, THE BAD NEWS IS YOU HAVE TO PICK ONE, YOU CANNOT APPLY THE M AND T PROCESS TO ONE PROJECT AND REVENUE SHARE TO ANOTHER.
UM, YOU HAVE TO, UM, PICK ONE, AND THEN IF YOU GO TO THE REVENUE SHARE OPTION, YOU HAVE TO DO SO BY LIKE LOCAL ORDINANCE, YOU HAVE TO ADOPT AN ORDINANCE.
UM, I BELIEVE WE HAVE SEVERAL SAMPLE ORDINANCES IN OUR GOOGLE REPOSITORY.
UM, IT'S A SIMPLE ORDINANCE, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE BOTTOM LINE IS I THINK YOUR LOCALITY NEEDS TO LOOK AT WHAT PROJECTS YOU THINK YOU MIGHT BE ATTRACTING.
UM, BECAUSE REMEMBER ANYTHING OVER 150 MEGAWATTS IS EXEMPT FROM THAT MACHINERY AND TOOLS, TEXTS, CAP.
UM, AND SO IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE ATTRACTING, SORRY, I HAVE A DOG IN THE HOUSE.
IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE ATTRACTING LARGE PROJECTS OVER 150 MEGAWATTS, THE GREAT BIG PROJECTS, FIVE, 6,000 ACRES, 5, 6, 700 MEGAWATTS.
AT THAT POINT, YOU'RE NEGOTIATING DIRECTLY WITH THE DEVELOPER ON WHAT KIND OF MONEY THEY'RE GOING TO PAY YOUR LOCALITY.
SO, IN THE CASE OF MY LOCALITY, UM, SUSSEX DID NOT OPT TO GO WITH REVENUE, SHARE, UM, SOME
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LOCALITIES THAT ARE SMALLER OR MORE INTERESTED IN SMALLER PROJECTS HAVE GONE WITH REVENUE SHARE.UM, SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT CERTAINLY IS A LOCAL DECISION AND YOU NEED TO, YOU KNOW, SORT OF CRYSTAL BALL GAZE, WHAT PROJECTS DO YOU HAVE? WHAT, WHAT KIND OF PROJECTS DO YOU WANT TO ATTRACT TO YOUR LOCALITY? UM, AND I THINK THAT WOULD HELP INFORM THAT DECISION.
IS THERE, IS THERE LIKE A CHEAT SHEET THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM THAT SAYS WE'RE DOING IT, REVENUE SHARE, WE'RE DOING IT, M AND T.
UM, SO YOU KIND OF KNOW THE DIFFERENCE IN WHICH WAY YOU'RE GOING TO GO, BECAUSE WE DON'T, WE TYPICALLY DON'T EVEN KNOW THE SIZE OF THE PROJECTS NOR THE LENGTH OF THE TERM.
UM, AND I'M GOING TO LET ROBERT, HE WAS MORE INVOLVED WITH THIS THAN I WAS, BUT THE WELDING COOPER CENTER AT UVA, WE WERE INVOLVED WITH THE SORT OF DEVELOPMENT AND BETA TESTING OF THEIR SOUL SMART VALUATION TOOL.
AND SO I'M GOING TO LET ROBERT GIVE YOU A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON THAT.
SO THERE'S TWO THINGS THAT WE COULD PROBABLY OFFER YOU.
AND ONE IS, UH, UM, UM, AND, AND EXHALE, UM, SHEET THAT WAS DEVELOPED BY ONE OF OUR, UM, UM, COUNTY ADMINISTRATORS THAT REALLY LOOKS AT THE REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES FOR REVENUE SHARE THAT LOOKS IN A SPREADSHEET, AND YOU CAN JUST PLUG IN A NUMBER 80 MEGAWATTS, WHATEVER IT IS, AND IT'LL SHOOT YOU OUT A REVENUE STREAM FOR LIFE OF THE PROJECT.
UM, BUT THE, THE WORKING WITH THE WELDING COOPER, UH, SOLE TAX REVENUE MODEL, YOU KNOW, WE DID THE BETA TESTING FOR THAT.
AND AFTER EVERY LEGISLATURE, LET'S SEE EVERY, UM, EVERY SESSION.
UM, I SPEAK WITH THE WELDON COOPER CENTER AND TALK ABOUT THE BILLS AND THEIR IMPACT AND MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY IT HAD.
AND, AND THEN WHEN THEY RUN THE BATTERY AND THEN RUN THE TEST OUT, THEY'LL RUN INTO A FEW OF OUR MEMBERS TO MAKE SURE IT WORKS, BUT THERE ARE, THERE ARE WAYS OUT THERE TO GET YOU, UM, INFORMATION TO HELP YOU MAKE GOOD DECISIONS.
UM, AND THAT APPLIES TO THE SIDING AGREEMENTS THAT APPLIES TO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE USE OF, OF 2, 2, 8, 8, WHICH IS THE, IN THE CODE, THE SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS FOR, UM, SMALL CELL, UNDER FIVE MEG PROJECTS, WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO TAKE SUBSTANTIAL CASH PAYMENTS.
AND WHAT A LOT OF OUR MEMBERS HAVE FOUND IS THE USE OF THAT TOOL ALLOWS THEM NOT TO INDEX 10% EVERY FIVE YEARS, BUT THE INDEX, UM, ANNUALLY AT A NUMBER AND THE DEVELOPERS HAVE NOT BEEN RETICENT TO DOING THAT.
SO, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WAS THAT WE'D MOVED AROUND.
I THINK ALL OF OUR MEMBERS ARE DOING THAT USING 2, 2 8, 8, 8.
NOW THAT AGAIN, AN INNOVATIVE COURSE OF ACTION, BUT THAT SORT OF BYPASSES, IF YOU WILL, THE THOUGHT THE 10%, UM, EVERY FIVE YEARS, ANY, ANY, AND BEFORE I GO, ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? GOOD QUESTION.
WHAT IS THAT? WHAT IS THE TYPICAL, THE TYPICAL TYPE OF PRODUCT THAT YOU'RE SEEING? I MEAN, I KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT SELLING US THE PRODUCT, BUT YOU'RE, YOU'RE SELLING US.
THE UNDERSTANDING ARE, I SHOULDN'T SAY SELLING IT ALL, BUT YOU'RE HELPING US TO UNDERSTAND HOW THESE THINGS ARE GOING TO COME TO OUR COUNTIES, BUT IS THERE A TYPICAL TYPE OF SITUATION THAT COMES TO EACH ONE OF OUR COUNTIES THAT WE KNOW THAT THIS, THIS PROJECT IS GOING TO LAST 10 YEARS? I WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN 10 YEARS AT THE END OF IT.
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO THE CELLS AND WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THE DISPOSAL.
AND IS IT SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA POLLUTE OUR GROUND AND ARE THEY GOING TO TAKE THE PRODUCT BACK? I MEAN, I CAN GO ON AND ON AND ON ABOUT THAT.
I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT, BUT THOSE ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
OR I THINK TO OUR ACCOUNTANTS, I KNOW SUSAN, UM, AT THE FARM BUREAU, YOU GAVE A LOT OF GOOD EXAMPLES OF WHAT WE NEED TO LOOK FOR, BE AWARE OF AND THOSE THINGS, UM, UM, IF YOU COULD USE SOME OF THOSE, I THOUGHT THEY WERE VERY HELPFUL.
UM, WELL I THINK, UM, THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU'VE JUST RAISED WERE ONE OF THE PRIMARY DRIVERS FOR ROBERT AND I REALLY PURSUING THE DECOMMISSIONING STUDY LEGISLATION, UM, BECAUSE TO YOUR POINT, THESE PROJECTS AT THE END OF 30, 35, 40 YEARS, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN.
UM, I THINK TO YOUR POINT, THAT DISPOSAL OF PANELS, UH, IS, IS ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I AM ASSUMING AND HOPING THAT THAT WILL BE LOOKED AT BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THE SOLAR INDUSTRY IS, IS, UH, YOU KNOW, STARTED ON THE WEST COAST.
THE BIG PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, ORIGINATED OUT THERE, UM, TO MY KNOWLEDGE AND, AND IF ROBERT KNOWS DIFFERENTLY, JUMP IN, BUT TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THERE IS NOT A, UH, SOLAR, UH, RECYCLING FACILITY, EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
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THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS COMING TO VIRGINIA IN 30 TO 40 YEARS, THERE IS GOING TO BE AN ENORMOUS NUMBER OF PANELS THAT WILL HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PANELS.UM, SO THE, THE LIFE CYCLE QUESTION AND THE DECOMMISSIONING STUDY, UM, IT AS A SUPERVISOR, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SOMETIMES KEEPS ME AWAKE AT NIGHT, AND I'M GLAD YOU'VE BROUGHT IT UP, UH, BECAUSE NONE OF US HAVE THOSE ANSWERS AND, UH, THE RSD DC AND OUR MEMBERS FELT THAT THESE WERE CRITICAL QUESTIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE LEGISLATURE HAS, UM, YOU KNOW, SORT OF GONE DOWN THIS SOLAR ROAD.
AND WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE BACKEND QUESTIONS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HERE, ARE THERE ANY OF US PLANNED FOR IT OR LIKE IT, OR EMBRACE IT, OR DON'T LIKE IT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GOING DOWN THIS ROAD.
AND SO CERTAINLY END OF LIFE, UM, UH, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH LANDFILL SPACE IN VIRGINIA, UM, TO, TO TAKE THE MILLIONS OF PANELS.
SO YOUR, YOUR POINT ABOUT WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE END IS CRITICAL.
UM, SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS WHEN ROBERT AND I HAVE DISCUSSED IS, UM, THE SOLAR FOLKS WILL SAY, WELL, WE'RE GOING TO RETURN THE LAND JUST THE WAY IT WAS.
WELL, UM, A LOT OF COUNTIES ARE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE, UM, SOIL INDEXING, UM, SOIL TESTING, UH, INTERMITTENTLY THROUGH THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT, BECAUSE CERTAINLY IF YOU WERE GOING TO RETURN THAT LAND TO A FOREST STATION, UH, IF YOU'RE GOING TO PLAN TO AT THE END OF THE LIFE CYCLE, GROW TREES AGAIN, YOU NEED TO BE VERY CLEAR IN YOUR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT.
UH, IF YOU'RE LEASING LAND, YOU NEED TO BE VERY CLEAR, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE DEVELOPER THAT YOU WANT, ALL OF THE STEEL AND CONCRETE PEERING SYSTEMS IN THE GROUND REMOVED, UM, SOMETIMES THEY'LL SAY, WELL, WE'LL TAKE OUT EVERYTHING THREE FEET DOWN AND LEAVE THE REST.
WELL, IF RETURNING THAT TO A FOREST AND CONDITION IS IMPORTANT TO YOU AS A COUNTY SLASH THE LANDOWNER, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO WANT TO BE SURE TO ADDRESS, UH, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, QUALITY OF SOIL, UH, AT THE END OF LIFE, IF YOU'RE GOING TO RETURN IT TO FORESTATION OR CROP FARMING.
UM, SO ALL OF THESE, THESE SORT OF BURNING QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END, UH, ARE, YOU KNOW, GOING TO BE SORT OF PART AND PARCEL OF THIS DECOMMISSIONING, YOU KNOW, LOOK WHAT DO WE DO IN 30 AND 40 YEARS? BECAUSE I DON'T THINK ANY OF US HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL RIGHT NOW THAT GIVES US THOSE ANSWERS, BUT THOSE ARE ALL THINGS YOU WANT TO THINK ABOUT.
SO THE STUDY, UM, THE, THE LIFECYCLE STUDY THAT PASSED THE GENERAL SELMI DOES THE FOLLOWING THINGS I'LL BE SHOWING THEM BRIEF IN, IN, I'M NOT GONNA READ YOU THE WHOLE BILL, BUT IT LOOKS AT THE FEASIBILITY COSTS, RECYCLING AND SALVAGE OPPORTUNITIES AND WASTE STRATEGY AND LIABILITY FOR DECOMMISSIONING MATERIALS, THE IMPACTS OF UNDERGROUND INFRASTRUCTURE, POST DECOMMISSIONING, AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF THE LIFECYCLE ON FARMING FORESTRY, SINCE THAT WET LANDS.
UH, AND THEN FINALLY THE POTENTIAL ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF WIND AND SOLAR AND BATTERY STORAGE.
AND THERE'S A TASK THAT CREATED WITH IT.
THE STC IS, IS EXPECTED TO COMPLETE THAT STUDY, UH, BY MAY 1ST, 2023.
UM, AND THAT SHOULD ANSWER AGAIN, THE GOAL IS TO ANSWER A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE AND YOUR CONSTITUENTS HAVE, AND THAT CERTAINLY A LOT OF OUR MEMBERS HAVE, WILL THAT HELP? WHAT HAPPENS IF, UM, JOHN DOE COMPANY COMES IN, DOES THIS, YOU SIGN OFF AND THEN 10 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, JOHN DEERE, JOHN DOE COMPANY, UM, NO LONGER EXIST, WHAT KIND OF THINGS DO NEED TO BE PUT IN PLACE TO PROTECT THAT INITIAL CONTRACT? IF A COMPANY JUST GOES AWAY? WELL, I CAN TAKE A STAB AT IT AND ROBERT CAN JUMP IN MOST OF THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS.
AND, UH, CERTAINLY THE WAY I THINK MOST OF OUR MEMBER LOCALITIES ARE DOING IT.
UM, YOU, UH, REQUIRE FINANCIAL SURETY, UM, FOR WHAT YOU THINK DECOMMISSIONING IS GOING TO COST.
UM, A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE ARE POSTING BONDS, UM, YOU KNOW, ON, ON SMALLER PROJECTS THAT COULD BE CASH PUT IN ESCROW, BUT YOU, YOU GET A FINANCIAL SECURITY UPFRONT, UM, WHAT WE ARE DOING AND WHAT A LOT OF OUR MEMBER COUNTIES ARE DOING.
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THAT AMOUNT EVERY FIVE YEARS.UM, AND IN OUR CASE, UM, WE HAVE A THIRD PARTY, UM, LOOK AT THE CURRENT, UH, MARKETPLACE, UM, LOOK AT CURRENT COST FOR DECOMMISSIONING OF FACILITY.
UM, AND THAT THIRD PARTY REVIEW, UH, IS PAID FOR BY THE OWNER OPERATOR, NOT BY THE LOCALITY AND EVERY FIVE YEARS, IF, IF THE BOND AMOUNT OR THE FINANCIAL SURETY, IF WE NEED TO ADJUST THAT UPWARD OR DOWNWARD, THEN THOSE ADJUSTMENTS OCCUR AT FIVE-YEAR INTERVALS.
UM, AND MOST CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS HAVE SORT OF A TRIGGER IN IT.
UM, IF, IF THAT FACILITY, UH, STOPS PRODUCING ENERGY, UH, FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN, UM, STORM DAMAGE OR, UM, SOME SORT OF, YOU KNOW, PHYSICAL, UH, ISSUE, IF, IF THEY, UM, IF THEY STOP, IF IT GOES IDLE FOR ANY, FOR, UH, FOR ANY OTHER THAN A PHYSICAL REASON, THEN AFTER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, THE DECOMMISSIONING PROCESS, UH, WILL KICK IN.
UM, BUT, BUT THAT IS THE BEST WAY I THINK WE HAVE DEALT WITH TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THE MONEY IS THERE WITH THE COMPANY, UM, TO, TO MAKE US WHOLE, AT THE END, TO YOUR POINT, A LOT OF THESE CON THESE PROJECTS WILL BE SOLD TWO OR THREE TIMES BEFORE THEY EVER GO LIVE AND MAKE JUICE.
AND THAT'S DIFFICULT FOR THE LOCALITY BECAUSE YOU ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO BE SURE THAT, UM, YOUR FINANCIAL SECURITY, YOU KNOW, AND THAT RESPONSIBILITY RATHER TRANSFERS WITH THE BUYING AND SELLING OF THESE PROJECTS.
UM, WE'VE DEALT WITH THAT IN MY COUNTY ALREADY ON ONE PROJECT.
UM, THEY HAVE NOT, UH, INSTALLED THE FIRST PANEL AND IT HAS BEEN BOUGHT AND SOLD.
AND WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW OF DEALING WITH THIS COMPANY, UM, ON THIS VERY ISSUE.
SO YOU, YOU HAVE TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE BALL.
UM, AND ROBERT, I MAY HAVE MISSED SOMETHING, BUT NO, I THINK THE FINANCIAL SURETY IS, IS THE, THE DEVICE OF PREFERENCE OR MOST OF OUR COUNTIES.
COULD I ASK, UM, WHAT DATA EXISTS TO, UM, TO DEMONSTRATE A COST ANALYSIS TO THE COMMUNITIES THAT ADOPT THESE PROJECTS? IS THERE ANY DATA CURRENTLY AND IF SO, WHERE WOULD THAT BE? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I THINK WE CAN PROVIDE YOU THAT ALL, ALL WE CAN PROVIDE YOU, I THINK, AND SUSAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG IS WE CAN PROVIDE YOU WITH SOME OF THE TOTAL REVENUE, PICTURES OF THE PROJECT AS THEY HAVE EVOLVED, DEVELOPED AND APPROVED BASED ON THE VALUE OF THE SITE AGREEMENT VERSUS REVENUE SHARE VERSUS, UM, AGAIN, UH, VARIOUS MECHANISMS. BUT AGAIN, THERE IS A COST INVOLVED IN ALL OF THIS.
SO, UM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
I'M NOT SURE WE, WE SPENT SO MUCH TIME ON THE REVENUE PICTURE TO GETTING TO A POINT WHERE WE'RE NOW GETTING, YOU KNOW, $25,000 PER MEGAWATT.
IT'S UM, YEAH, IT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION.
SOME SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO DO BY THE WAY.
I WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING OR AT LEAST IT HELPING TO EVALUATE, UM, WHAT, WHAT THAT MIGHT BE, BECAUSE WHAT MY FEAR IS IS THAT WE WILL GO INTO THIS, NOT KNOWING IF WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO BREAK, EVEN IF WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO MAKE MONEY FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS, OR IF WE'RE ACTUALLY PUTTING THEM IN A LONG-TERM HOLE.
AND I DON'T WANT AS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL, I DON'T WANT THAT TO BE THE INHERITANCE OF SOMEBODY IN MY POSITION AND EIGHT YEARS.
AND I DIDN'T MEET A DAY THAT WE'RE, WE'VE BEEN IN, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR TWO YEARS AND OUR SOUL ARE SO FOCUSED IN LIFE, WAS TO, WAS TO BUILD THE REVENUE STREAMS AVAILABLE, THE OPTIONS, AVAILABLE THE COUNTIES.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'RE NOW AT A POINT WHERE WE'RE BEGINNING TO LOOK AT OTHER THINGS, RIGHT? LIKE PERMIT FEES IS THE LATEST THING WE'VE BEEN STARTING TO LOOK AT IS TRYING TO GET A BIG SENSE OF WHAT PERMIT FEES SHOULD LOOK LIKE AND WHAT A BEST PRACTICE MIGHT BE FOR THE VARIOUS COUNTIES.
UM, I WILL, UM, I'LL JUST CHIME IN.
I'LL TRY TO ANSWER, BECAUSE I THINK THE QUESTION YOU'RE YOU'RE ASKING IS, IS ONE THAT IS A FELLOW SUPERVISOR I'VE ASKED, UM, WE APPROVED, UH, THE THIRD PROJECT WE APPROVED IN SUSSEX WAS ALSO THE FIRST SIGN SIDING AGREEMENT IN VIRGINIA.
[00:35:02]
AND, UH, THAT WAS REALLY EXCITING FOR US.SO TO YOUR POINT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE WEIGHING THIS, UM, THIS SORT OF UNKNOWN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ASKING ALL THESE QUESTIONS, WHAT HAPPENS IN 35, 40 YEARS, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT, UM, ONE OF THE ISSUES WE HAVE IN, IN MY COUNTY, WE ARE EXTREMELY RURAL 492 SQUARE MILES, 9,700 PEOPLE.
AND WE HAVE ABOUT 43% OF OUR COUNTY THAT DOESN'T JUST HAVE SUB-PART INTERNET.
SO WHEN WE DID OUR SIDING AGREEMENT, UM, WE, UH, UH, WE CONSTRUCTED A DEAL WHERE WE GOT $4.2 MILLION DEDICATED TO BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT THAT BASICALLY IS PASSING THROUGH TO US, TO OUR LOCAL CO-OPS BECAUSE THEY ARE, UM, THEY ARE ROLLING OUT BROADBAND IN OUR COUNTY.
AND, UM, SO, AND THEN WE DID A $250,000 CASH PROFFER FOR FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES.
AND BASICALLY THAT WENT INTO OUR FIRETRUCK ROTATION FUND.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE TWO ROBERTS POINT.
WE'VE WORKED VERY HARD TO CREATE, UM, SOME REAL FINANCIAL INCENTIVES WHERE PARTICULARLY POORER RURAL COUNTIES, UM, THAT ARE REALLY SEARCHING FOR SERVICES.
YOU KNOW, WE CAN TAKE THESE TOOLS WE'VE DEVELOPED AND REALLY DO THINGS FOR THE GREATER GOOD.
AND INITIALLY OUR BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT, OUR, OUR INITIAL ESTIMATES WERE, IT WAS GOING TO TAKE US UNTIL 20, 26, 20, 27 TO GET FULL BROADBAND AVAILABLE TO OUR COUNTY.
AND WE ARE NOW LOOKING AT FULL COVERAGE, UH, IN OUR COUNTY BY THE END OF 2023.
NOW THIS WASN'T THE ONLY MONEY THAT WENT TO THAT.
WE DID GRANTS, WE REDID TOBACCO COMMISSION FUNDING, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF THINGS, BUT, UM, THERE CAN BE GOOD THAT COMES FROM THIS.
IF YOU GET A GOOD PROJECT ON A GOOD SITE.
AND AGAIN, AS LONG AS WE TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT, AT, YOU KNOW, THESE END OF LIFE QUESTIONS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN CONSTRUCT DEALS THAT WILL BRING THINGS TO YOUR CITIZENS.
THAT CERTAINLY IN OUR CASE, WE DID NOT HAVE THE, THE COMMERCIAL TAX BASE TO BRING OTHERWISE.
SO I HOPE THAT GIVES A LITTLE BIT OF PERSPECTIVE TO, OKAY, SO, SO JUST TO FINISH UP, UM, I'LL GET REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS BY THE WAY.
SO JUST TO FINISH UP A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE, UM, THE RURAL SOLAR DEVELOPMENT COALITION.
SO, SO AS I SAID AT THE BEGINNING, REALLY BUNDLED, UH, UH, UH, FOUND IT AS A BUNDLE RESOURCE TO ADVOCATE FOR SPECIFICALLY THOSE RURAL COUNTIES THAT DIDN'T FEEL LIKE THEY WERE BEING ADEQUATELY SERVED BY OTHER, OTHER ASSOCIATIONS.
HEY, EMILY, I CAN GO THROUGH THIS, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU CAN DROP THE SLIDES AND I THINK WE'LL BE FINE.
SO, UM, STANKY BY THE WAY, AND IS, IS, AND SO WE, WE, WE LOOKED AT WAYS WE CAN DO THAT.
WE, WE HAVE, WE REALLY BELIEVE IN THE SHARING OF INFORMATION AND DIALOGUE, NOT JUST AMONGST OUR, AMONG OUR COUNTIES, BUT WE REALLY ENCOURAGE, UH, THE DIALOGUE WITH, UM, AND WE, WE HAVE, UM, HAVE ENGAGED IN HAVE WHAT WE THINK ARE REALLY POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH DOMINION DOMINIONS.
WE FEATURE ON A COUPLE OF PHONE CALLS A YEAR, MOST RECENTLY BEFORE THEIR RFP IS RELEASED ON FRIDAY FOR SMALL CELL.
UM, WE HAD AN ADVANCED CALL WHERE THEY REVIEW THE RFP WITH OUR FOLKS AND, AND, AND INTERESTINGLY, WHEN THEY WROTE THE FIRST RFP, OUR FOLKS PROVIDED INPUT INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RFP RFP.
UM, WE HAD THE SEC STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION, SOLAR REPRESENTATIVE ON RELATIVELY FREQUENTLY.
AND AGAIN, HE HAS REQUESTED INFORMATION FROM US, WHICH WE HAVE GLADLY PROVIDED BECAUSE EVERY RIGHT NOW IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL EARLY IN THE GAME.
WE'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, THREE YEARS INTO THE, THE CLEAN ENERGY, UM, UM, CLEAN ECONOMY ACT AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THE EVERYBODY'S STILL LEARNING.
AND SO EVEN THE SEC NOW, ANY INFORMATION THEY ASK FOR, UM, TO BETTER THEIR SERVICES, UH, FOR THE, FOR VIRGINIA, I THINK IS IMPORTANT.
UM, AND, AND SO WE WE'VE DONE A LOT OF THOSE THINGS.
WE, WE HAVE, UH, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A CALL WITH WELDON COOPER ABOUT THE SURVEY THAT'S THAT'S THAT WAS RELEASED YESTERDAY, AND THEY'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH, AND A LOT OF OUR FOLKS PROVIDE AN INPUT IN THAT.
SO, SO REAL QUICKLY THAT THAT'S KIND OF THE WAY WE, AGAIN, WE DO MONTHLY CALLS AND THEY ARE VERY INTERACTIVE AND VERY ENGAGING VIRTUAL MEETINGS, UM, NO PERSONAL, BUT WE DO A VIRTUAL MEETING.
[00:40:01]
AND AGAIN, IT'S, UM, WHILE EVERYBODY WAS RETICENT IN THE BEGINNING, I WOULD SAY, IF I CAN CHARACTERIZE THOSE CALLS IS EXTRAORDINARILY ACTIVE AND THAT'S ALL GOOD.AGAIN, THE LATEST THING, WE, WE, WE HAD AN INTERESTED, UM, COUNTY AND UNDERSTANDING THE WAY THAT PERMIT FEES WERE UTILIZED AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOLAR IN, IN, IN, IN PERMANENT, IN CONDITIONAL USE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND, AND SO WE, WE ARE GOING TO, FROM THAT DEVELOP A BEST PRACTICE WITH RATIONALE BEHIND IT, TO HELP COUNTIES PROVIDE AND MAKE SURE THEIR, THEIR, THEIR WHOLE, WITH RESPECT TO THEIR PERMIT FEES, BECAUSE IT TAKES A LOT OF TIMES TO PROCESS, YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE FACILITIES.
UM, I, I THINK SOMEBODY ASKED FOR A LISTING OF OUR VARIOUS COUNTY.
SO I WANT TO GO THROUGH A REAL QUICKLY SUSAN, IF I'M MISSING ANY, JUST JUMP OUT.
SO, UM, PRINCE GEORGE BERLIN, ORANGE BRUNSWICK, LINDENBERG MECKLENBURG, NOTTAWAY DINWIDDIE KING, AND QUEEN ESSEX, UH, RICHMOND, ACROBATICS, SUSSEX IN HALIFAX, BUT YOU MENTIONED CHARLOTTE, I MIGHT HAVE.
BUT I THINK THAT'S, AGAIN, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
AND, UH, IT'S, UH, IT'S A GOOD GROUP AND IT'S A COLLEGIAL GROUP AND ALWAYS WILLING TO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY GOOD SMART PEOPLE AT THE TABLE TO MAKE OUR WORK BETTER.
UM, AND JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, TO JOIN IS JUST 5,000 A YEAR AND YOU GET EVERYTHING.
SO YOU GET THE ADVOCACY WORK WE DO IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, WE FACILITATE THE CALLS AND WE ENCOURAGE, AND WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL PUSH AND ANSWER QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE ANY HELP THAT WE CAN PROVIDE.
UM, BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE BASE, WHICH IS EXPANDING DAILY SOLAR DEVELOPMENT.
UM, WE, WE, YOU KNOW, I RUN A BUSINESS AND WE GET SOME CHECKS IN THE FIRST QUARTER.
MOST OF THE CHECKS WE COME, COME AFTER JULY ONE SURPRISE.
AND THEN THE OTHER, THE OTHER THING THAT, UM, AND THIS IS SOMETHING I, I TEND TO DO A LITTLE MORE OF, UH, THAN, THAN ROBERT, BUT, UM, WE ALSO ASSIST IF, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ZONING LANGUAGE OR COMP PLAN LANGUAGE RELATIVE TO SOLAR OR BATTERY STORAGE, UM, WE CAN HELP, UM, YOU KNOW, GUIDE YOU THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
WE HAVE A GOOGLE DRIVE WITH, WITH LOTS OF RESOURCES ON THAT SUBJECT.
UM, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN BRUNSWICK AND NOT AWAY HELPING THEM WITH THEIR, UH, ORDINANCE DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AND WE CAN DO THAT IN PERSON OR WITH DISTANCE.
WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT REMOTELY.
UM, BUT WE ARE HAPPY TO REVIEW, UH, YOU KNOW, ORDINANCES AND, AND MAKE ANY SUGGESTIONS, UM, AND PUT YOU IN CONTACT WITH ONE OF OUR OTHER MEMBERS THAT MAY HAVE A SIMILAR GOAL.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, A LOT OF YOUR ORDINANCE AND COMP PLAN DEVELOPMENT, REALLY, YOU KNOW, IT WAS VERY DEPENDENT ON HOW MUCH DEVELOPMENT YOU WANT TO ATTRACT, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF DEVELOPMENT YOU WANT TO ATTRACT.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN CERTAINLY, UM, HELP GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE, THE ORDINANCE PROCESS.
ONCE YOU ALL HAVE DETERMINED, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN MAKE THAT NEEDLE.
AS I TELL PEOPLE, YOU CAN MAKE THAT NEEDLE AS HARD TO THREAD AS POSSIBLE, OR YOU CAN ROLL OUT THE WELCOME MAT, OR YOU CAN BE SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN.
AND, UH, SO, YOU KNOW, ONCE YOU DETERMINE WHAT YOU WANT, THAT WILL SORT OF GUIDE THAT PROCESS.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE A COUPLE OF COUNTIES RIGHT NOW THAT HAVE BEEN SO, SO I WOULD SAY MATURE IN THE WAY THEY'VE APPROACHED DEVELOPMENT OF, OF UTILITY SCALE SOLAR PROJECTS.
THEY ARE ACTUALLY NOW ACTUALLY LOOKING FOR EXAMPLES OF, UH, OF DENSITY PLANNING, UH, AS THEY CONTEMPLATE SHUTTING DOWN, UH, THEIR SOLAR ACTIVITY AND THEIR RESPECTIVE CANDIDATES, IF THEY'VE REACHED A PLATEAU, WHAT THEY BELIEVE IS A PLATEAU AND IN TERMS OF AVAILABLE LAND CONNECTIVITY, ALL THE THINGS THAT, THAT MAKE SENSE.
AND NOW THEY'RE, THEY'RE CONTEMPLATING THE BEST WAY TO, TO BEGIN TO, TO CREATE, UM, A DENSITY PLATFORM.
AND WE HAVE AT LEAST ONE QUESTION FROM A MEMBER HERE.
UH, I WAS GOING TO SAY, YOU WANT TO COME UP SO YOU CAN SEE HER.
WE CAN'T SEE ANYBODY BY THE WAY.
WE CAN SEE IF IT, IS THAT A QUESTION HERE? HI, I'M JEREMY CAMP WITH CLARK COUNTY.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF INTEREST IN SOLAR PROJECTS.
I JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON HERE, BUT IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU SPOKE ABOUT TAX REVENUE IN LAW, BUT I DIDN'T SEE ANY REFERENCE TO 15.2
[00:45:01]
2316 0.7, WHICH ISN'T UNDER THE TAXATION LAWS, IT'S UNDER A PLANNING AND ZONING OF THE STATE CODE.AND SO IT TALKS ABOUT, UH, THE APPLICANTS FOR SOLAR PROJECTS BEING REQUIRED TO MEET WITH LOCALITIES, TO WORK ON A SIDING AGREEMENT ANYWAY, WAY THE TERMS IN THIS SEEM FAR LESS RESTRICTIVE TO LOCALITIES THAN WHAT YOU WERE MENTIONING.
SO I WAS WONDERING WHAT YOUR TAKE IS ON THAT.
SO, SO THE QUESTION WAS, UM, SITING AGREEMENT VERSUS A REVENUE SHARE OR MNT.
UM, I'LL SPEAK A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO THE MICROPHONE.
CAN YOU HEAR ME BETTER NOW? OKAY.
SO IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU, YOU DIDN'T MENTION 15.2 DASH 2316 0.7 OF THE STATE CODE, WHICH IS IN THE PLANNING PORTION OF THE STATE CODE, NOT UNDER TAXATION.
SO UNDER THIS, IT TALKS ABOUT APPLICANTS FOR SOLAR PROJECTS BEING REQUIRED TO MEET WITH LOCALITIES, TO WORK ON CITING AGREEMENTS.
AND THE TERMS IN THIS SEEMED TO BE FAR LESS RESTRICTING AND LOCALITIES THAN WHAT YOU WERE PRESENTING AS THE NEW LEGISLATION AND THE OTHER SECTIONS OF THE STATE CODE.
SO IT WAS A LITTLE CONFUSED BY THAT AND JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT YOUR TAKE IS ON THAT, BECAUSE IT SEEMS MORE ADVANTAGEOUS TO, UM, FOLLOW THIS PATH VERSUS THE PATH YEARS.
ROBERT IS, IS, SO I, I THINK, IS HE REFERRING TO THE 15.2 2316 IS THE CITING AGREEMENT LANGUAGE, CORRECT? THAT'S IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SECTION.
UM, SO, SO BASICALLY YOU DO ALL OF THE ABOVE.
UM, ONCE THE WAY THE SIDING AGREEMENT LEGISLATION WAS DESIGNED, ONCE AN APPLICANT COMES TO YOUR LOCALITY AND EXPRESSES INTEREST IN A PROJECT, THEY ARE, UM, THEY SHALL SIT DOWN AND MEET WITH YOU, UM, TO TALK ABOUT WHAT, WHAT KIND OF OFFERINGS THEY COULD POTENTIALLY MAKE.
AND THE SIGNING AGREEMENT LANGUAGE IS ACTUALLY VERY BROAD BECAUSE YOU CAN, YOU CAN ACCEPT, UH, FUNDS FROM THE APPLICANT FOR, FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES.
IT CAN GO INTO YOUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
IT CAN GO INTO YOUR CURRENT YEAR OPERATING BUDGET.
IT CAN GO TO YOUR RESERVE FUNDS, OR IT CAN GO TO BROADBAND APPOINTMENTS.
SO THOSE ARE THE FOUR PLACES ENUMERATED IN THE CODE THAT SIDING AGREEMENT FUNDS CAN GO THAT IS SEPARATE.
AND APART FROM EITHER THE MACHINERY AND TOOLS, TEXTS LEVY, OR IF YOU CHOOSE TO GO REVENUE, SHARE THE REVENUE SHARE LEVY.
SO THE SIDING AGREEMENT IS, IS SORT OF, UH, THE CHERRY ON TOP OF THE TAXATION PIECE ON THE BOTTOM.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? I SUPPOSE SO, YES, BUT, UM, IF HE DIDN'T WANT TO PURSUE THE TAXATION PART, COULD YOU JUST DO THE SIGNING AGREEMENT PART? WELL, WELL, YOU WOULD, YOU'VE GOT TO LEVY SOMETHING ON THEM.
YOU'VE GOT TO TEXT THEM IN SOME WAY.
UM, SO, UM, I'M AT MORE, MORE THAN LIKE A PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAX THROUGH THE AGREEMENT.
UM, WE, WE, THERE IS NOT A PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TEXAS.
AND, AND WHAT I WOULD SAY IS YOU, YOU WOULD BE LEAVING MONEY ON THE TABLE, PARTICULARLY ON THE LARGE PROJECT.
UM, WHY? UM, I WOULDN'T, I DON'T THINK HE CAN DO IT AND I WOULDN'T DO IT.
SO, ROBERT, YEAH, NO, I, I THINK MOST OF THE COUNTIES THAT WE HAVE USED REVENUE SHARE, AS SUSAN SAID EARLIER, IN ADDITION TO OPTIMIZING THE SIDING AGREEMENT AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE SIDING AGREEMENT IS AS SUSAN, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE SORT OF THE EXTRA CREDIT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PRO.
THERE IS GREAT FLEXIBILITY OF WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH, UH, WITH A SIDE INGREDIENT.
AS I SAID EARLIER, THERE'S BEEN SOME COUNTIES THAT USED IT REALLY UNIQUELY.
I MEAN, ONE'S BUILDING A WATER TANK AND A WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM, UH, TO AN AREA IN THE RURAL COUNTY THAT HAS NEVER HAD, UM, THAT, THAT KIND OF, OF WATER AVAILABILITY IN, UH, PREVIOUSLY IN THE COUNTY HAS BEEN THERE SINCE THE 17TH CENTURY.
SO, SO, SO IT'S, YEAH, SO, SO, SO THERE ARE GREAT FLEXIBILITY AND GREAT OPPORTUNITY.
AND AGAIN, WHAT YOU CAN DO, AND WHAT WE PROVIDED IS WE'VE GOT A RESOURCE OF, I THINK ALMOST EVERY SIGHTING AGREEMENT, THIS, THE NEXT, THE HURDLE I'D
[00:50:01]
LIKE TO SAY THE EARLY BAD ONES AND THE MORE RECENT, GOOD ONES.AGAIN, WE, I THINK EVERYBODY WAS LEARNING REALLY WHAT IT MEANT.
UM, AND, UH, UM, AND, AND WHAT IT COULD DO AS IT WAS BEING DEVELOPED, THAT HELP.
AND, AND WHAT WE DID ON OUR SIDING AGREEMENT, BECAUSE WE CHOSE NOT TO ADOPT REVENUE BECAUSE IN OUR COUNTY, UM, WE ARE SORT OF GOING FOR THE LARGER FOOTPRINT PROJECTS, UH, THAT, THAT SORT OF BETTER SUITED TO OUR, OUR SITUATION HERE.
UM, REVENUE SHARE ACTUALLY NETTED ON ONE PROJECT THAT WAS KIND OF THAT MEDIUM SIZED PROJECT.
UM, WE WOULD'VE MADE MORE MONEY ON REVENUE SHARE SO THAT WE DETERMINED WHAT THE DIFFERENCE WAS BETWEEN M AND T AND REVENUE SHARE.
AND WE SIMPLY BUILT THAT DIFFERENCE THAT WE WOULD HAVE LOST, UM, STAY IN WITH HIM AND T AND WE BUILT THAT INTO THE SIDING AGREEMENT AND RECOUP THAT MONEY FOR BROAD.
UM, SO THERE, THERE'S ALWAYS MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT.
UM, AND WHEN YOU CRUNCH YOUR NUMBERS, YOU CAN USUALLY GET WHERE YOU WANT TO BE.
ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I, I HAVE, UM, WHAT IF YOU HAVEN'T REALLY ADDRESSED, UM, SOLAR IN YOUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OR ORDINANCES, AND, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE YOU NEED TO GET BETTER EDUCATED, BUT WHAT IF YOU REALLY DON'T WANT IT THERE? CAN IT PUSH IN ANY WAY, EVEN IF YOU LISTENING TO WHAT YOU SAY AND GETTING EDUCATED AND DOING THOSE ORDINANCES, IF, IS THERE A WAY THAT THEY CAN PUSH IN BEYOND WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO? HM, WELL, I, I'LL JUST, UH, WE'VE JUST RECENTLY UPDATED OUR ZONING.
WE, WE WENT DOWN THIS ROAD INITIALLY ABOUT, UH, FOUR YEARS AGO.
UM, ONE THING WE HAVE DONE IS BECAUSE WE ARE AN AG AND FORESTRY INTENSIVE COMMUNITY THAT IS SORT OF OUR, OUR CHARACTERISTIC HERE IN SUSSEX.
UM, WE HAVE ADOPTED ZONING LANGUAGE LANGUAGE THAT DOES NOT WELL, FIRST OF ALL, WE'VE IDENTIFIED ALL OF OUR PRIME FARM LAND IN THE COUNTY, UM, IDENTIFIED, UH, BY USDA IS, IS PRIME FARM LAND.
AND IN OUR ZONING, WE DO NOT ALLOW SOLAR DEVELOPMENT ON PRIME FARM LAND BECAUSE IN OUR OPINION, UH, WE'VE ALL GOT TO EAT.
UM, IN, IN, IN OUR PARTICULAR LOCALITY, WE'VE IDENTIFIED PRIME FARM LAND PRESERVATION AS SOMETHING IMPORTANT.
SO THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, ONCE AS A LOCALITY, YOU SORT OF IDENTIFY WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, WHAT KIND OF DEVELOPMENT YOU MAY WANT TO ATTRACT.
THEN IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, WHAT WE DID IS SORT OF BUILT, BUILT OUR COMP PLAN LANGUAGE AND ZONING AROUND WHAT OUR BOARD, AS OUR GOALS FOR HOW MUCH AND WHAT KIND OF DEVELOPMENT WE WANT TO ATTRACT.
UM, ANOTHER THING MANY LOCALITIES DO IS THEY SAY WE ARE GOING TO ALLOW X THOUSAND ACRES FOR SOLAR DEVELOPMENT, AND THEY WILL PUT A CAP IN THERE IN THEIR ZONE.
ONCE WE HIT 2,500, 5,008,000 ACRES OF LAND DEDICATED TO SOLAR, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE OUR PART.
UH, SOME COUNTIES DO THAT HARD ACREAGE CAP.
SOME COUNTIES HAVE DONE A MINIMUM ACREAGE, BUT NO MAPS.
SOME FOLKS HAVE DONE A MAX ACREAGE SIZE PER PROJECT.
UH, BRUNSWICK COUNTY HAS ACTUALLY DONE A PERCENTAGE OF THEIR COUNTY LAND MASS FOR SOLAR DEVELOPMENT.
SO, AND I THINK THEY ARE SOMEWHERE AROUND 8,000 ACRES.
UM, BRUNSWICK IS A PRETTY LARGE COUNTY, UH, AND I, I CAN'T REMEMBER, BUT IT'S MAYBE 2% OF THEIR, THEIR LANDMASS MAYBE.
UM, SO THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF WAYS YOU CAN GUIDE THAT DEVELOPMENT LIMIT THAT DEVELOPMENT, OR CONVERSELY, WELCOME THAT DEVELOPMENT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, BEFORE YOU GO DOWN YOUR ZONING AND COMP PLAN ROAD, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING IN PLACE, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT AS A BOARD, AS A COUNTY, YOU KNOW, YOUR PLANNING COMMISSION,
[00:55:01]
YOU KNOW, EVERYONE COMES TO A MEETING OF THE MINDS OF GENERALLY SPEAKING, ARE WE GONNA BE SORT OF PRO SOLAR? DO WE NOT WANT A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT? UM, OR WE JUST GOING TO LOOK AT EVERY PROJECT AS IT COMES.UM, AND THE ONE THING I WOULD, I WOULD ADVISE AGAINST, I THINK, AND ROBERT CORRECT ME IF, IF YOU THINK I'M WRONG, BUT SOME COUNTIES HAVE LOOKED AT A MORATORIUM APPROACH.
WE ARE SIMPLY GOING TO SAY NO, UM, WITHOUT SORT OF ANY DOCUMENTED REASON OTHER THAN WE MAY NOT LIKE IT, AND WE DON'T WANT IT.
AND IN WHAT I WOULD SAY IS, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER YOU DO, CERTAINLY IF IT WERE CHALLENGED IN COURT, YOU WOULD WANT TO BE ABLE TO STAND ON THAT ZONING AND COMP PLAN.
UM, I CAN GIVE YOU A PRIME EXAMPLE.
WE JUST DENIED, UM, WE OF B OF A APPROVED A 2,600 ACRE PROJECT, A 1500 AND SOME ACRE PROJECT.
THE 200 ACRE HAS BEEN, UH, TURNING OUT JUICE FOR THREE YEARS NOW.
UM, WE ACTUALLY DENIED A 1.6 MEGAWATT, 30 ACRE PROJECT.
AND, AND I THINK, UM, THE DEVELOPER FIGURED, WELL, THEY'VE APPROVED THESE BIG ONES.
THE SMALL ONE WILL BE A SHOE, BUT AGAIN, UM, YOU'VE GOTTA BE ABLE TO STAND ON YOUR DECISION AND IT HAS TO BE A LAND USE DECISION.
AND IN THE CASE OF THIS 30 ACRE 1.6 MEGAWATT PROJECT THAT WE DENIED AND THEY APPEALED, WE DENIED IT AGAIN.
UH, THEY HAVEN'T TAKEN US TO COURT, BUT IN THAT CASE, THIS WAS A LAND LANDLOCKED PARCEL OF PROPERTY.
SORRY, I HAVE A NEW PUPPY, SORRY.
UM, IT WAS A LANDLOCKED PARCEL OF LAND AND THE ONLY WAY TO ACCESS THAT PARCEL, IT HAD A VERY NARROW ENTRANCE.
IT WAS LITERALLY IN BETWEEN TWO REALLY LOVELY BRICK HOMES INHABITED BY RETIRED FOLKS IN THE ONLY ENTRANCE TO THE PROPERTY WAS 25 FEET OFF OF THIS GENTLEMAN'S GARAGE DIRECTLY OFF OF HIGHWAY 40 AND THE LAND, THE ENTRANCE WASN'T BIG ENOUGH TO HAVE ANY KIND OF, UH, A FLOATING INSURANCE FOR CONSTRUCTION.
WE HAVE A LOT OF LOGGING TRUCKS, A LOT OF TRACTOR TRAILERS ON THAT STRETCH OF ROAD.
WE HAVE VERY BAD ACCIDENT DATA FOR THAT STRETCH OF ROAD.
AND WE DENIED A 1.6 MEGAWATT PROJECT, AND WE DID IT BASED ON LAND USE AND DATA AND OUR ZONING, OUR ZONING.
UM, WE NOW HAVE A HUNDRED ACRE MINIMUM FOR PROJECTS.
SO AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S, YOU ALL SORT OF DETERMINE WHAT KIND OF DEVELOPMENT DO YOU WANT, AND THEN YOU SORT OF DIRECT YOUR ZONING AND COMP PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
UM, SO REALLY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S SOME SOUL SEARCHING UP FRONT OF WHAT, WHAT DO YOU ALL WANT TO DO IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE AT ALL? YES.
THE OTHER THING YOU, UM, MR. BUTLER, YES, SIR.
I CAN ASK THEM OR YOU GO AHEAD.
MA'AM, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE, UH, UH, UH, ABOUT, UH, UH, 30 ACRE AREA AND 1.6 MEGAWATTS.
AND I WAS JUST WONDERING, I KNOW THAT, UH, THE, UH, UH, SOLAR, UM, OH, UH, INDUSTRY IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S STILL EVOLVING.
AND I WAS JUST WONDERING THE, THE OF, COULD YOU GIVE ME AN IDEA AS TO, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CURRENT TECHNOLOGY, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT 8,000 ACRES, WHICH IS ABOUT 12 SQUARE MILES OF, OF, UH, OF LAND.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SAYING WITH, WITH, UH, UH, WE WOULD, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'D BE LOOKING AT $1,500 FOR ONE MEGAWATT, IF, IF I'M, IF, IF MY FIGURES ARE RIGHT THERE, UM, YEAH.
PER MEGAWATT AND THE, UM, BUT, UH, I WAS JUST WONDERING WHAT OF, WHAT ARE THE EXPECTED RETURNS ON THIS AS FAR AS, UH, YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF YOU DEVOTE A 30 ACRES, COULD YOU EXPECT THAT YOU'RE GOING TO GET 1.6 MEGAWATTS OR DOES IT MATTER, DOES IT DEPEND UPON WHAT TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY THAT YOU DECIDE TO GO WITH, OR IS THERE A STANDARD TECHNOLOGY THAT YOU'RE GOING WITH? AND, UH, CAUSE I, UH, I'D SAY IT'S KIND OF LIKE CLEAR AS MUD TO ME RIGHT NOW.
WELL, UM, THE, UH, FOR, IF YOU, IF YOU ADOPT REVENUE SHARE, UM, AS I SAID, UM, IT
[01:00:01]
IS, IT IS WHATEVER THEY ARE, UH, PERMITTED BY THE GRID OPERATOR PJM.SO IF YOU'RE PERMITTED FOR 1.6 MEGAWATTS, WHETHER THEY CRANK OUT 1.2 MEGAWATTS OR 1.6, YOU'RE GOING TO ASSESS THAT REVENUE SHARE AT WHAT THEIR PERMIT, UH, BY THE GRID OPERATOR IS FOR, UH, IT'S NOT DEPENDENT ON TECHNOLOGY.
IT IS WHATEVER THE MEGAWATTS APPROVED BY PJM.
SO THAT'S HOW YOU ASSESS REVENUE SHARE.
WELL, THAT, THAT STILL IS CLEAR AS MUD TO ME.
UM, YOU, YOU, YOU KNOW WHAT PJM IS? UM, I'M ASSUMING, BUT, UM, DOES D D ARE YOU AWARE OF THEM? UM, NO.
SO, UM, IN ROBERT, AGAIN, JUMP IN, UM, BUT PJMS STANDS FOR PENNSYLVANIA JERSEY, MARYLAND.
UM, BUT PJM IS THE GRID OPERATOR FOR OUR SECTION OF THE EAST COAST, UH, FROM JERSEY SOUTH.
AND I THINK, DO THEY STOP HERE AT VIRGINIA? I THINK WE'RE THE SOUTHERN MOST IN THE PJM INTERCHANGE.
UM, SO PJM HAS THE CONTROL OVER THAT PIECE OF THE GRID UP AND DOWN THE EAST COAST.
SO WHEN A SOLAR PROJECT, UM, IN THEIR EARLY STAGES, UM, THEY HAVE TO GO TO PJM FOR PERMISSION TO GET SPACE ON THE GRID FOR THAT AMOUNT OF MEGAWATTS FOR THEIR PROJECT.
SO BEFORE THEY COME TO YOU, UH, THEY HAVE EITHER GOTTEN THEIR APPROVAL FROM BJM OR ARE AWFULLY CLOSE FOR GETTING APPROVED FOR THAT AMOUNT OF MEGAWATTS ON THE GRID.
DOES, DOES THAT HELP? NOT REALLY.
I MEAN, I'M, THERE'S KIND OF LIKE A DISCONNECT THERE.
YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT, UH, UH, THAT THE TECHNOLOGY AND HOW MUCH YOU, THAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY PRODUCING DOESN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE.
IT'S HOW MUCH THAT THEY'RE ALLOTTING YOU AND RIGHT.
FOR, FOR, FOR ASSESSMENT, FOR YOUR CALCULATION OF REVENUE SHARE.
YEAH, YOU WERE, YOU WERE LOCALITY.
THEY WILL GIVE YOU A LETTER FOR PJM.
THEY BASICALLY GET THEIR OPERATIONS.
SO THAT REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH YOU PUT OUT, HOW, HOW MUCH POWER THIS WELL THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE ALLOWED.
THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF PJM PERMITTING THEM FOR THEIR SPACE ON THE GRID.
THEY WILL BE PROHIBITED FROM PJM FOR THAT PROJECT.
IF THEY'RE PERMITTED FOR 1.6 MEGAWATTS, OR IF THEY'RE PERMITTED FOR A HUNDRED MEGAWATTS, THEY WILL BE PROHIBITED BY PJM FOR PRODUCING ANY MORE THAN WHAT THEIR ALLOWANCE IS.
SO I WAS JUST TRYING TO, I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET AN IDEA AS TO, YOU KNOW, SOME TYPE OF A YARD STICK THAT YOU CAN COME ALONG AND SAY THAT WITH THE CURRENT TECHNOLOGY PER, PER ACRE, THAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO PRODUCE, YOU KNOW, WELL, I'LL TELL YOU THIS, THAT THE INDUSTRY STANDARD THEY'RE USING RIGHT NOW IS 10 ACRES PER MEGAWATT.
WHAT I WILL ALSO TELL YOU IS IN MY PART OF VIRGINIA, WHERE THE LAND IS VERY WET AND VERY SWAMPY AND VERY LOW, UM, BECAUSE OF THE TOPOGRAPHY, WHAT WILL YOUR FINDING IN MY PART OF THE WORLD THAT THE ACRES IT IS TAKING TO PRODUCE A MEGAWATT IS WELL, NORTH OF 10.
UM, AND IN SOME OF OUR PROJECTS, WE'RE AVERAGING OVER 20 ACRES, A MEGAWATT BECAUSE OF THE WETLANDS CONDITION CONDITIONS, THE LOW LYING SOILS, THE WET SOILS, UM, IF YOU'RE HIGHER AND DRIER, UM, ROBERT AND I HAVE HEARD OF SOME PROJECTS THAT POTENTIALLY CAN PRODUCE THAT MEGAWATT ON MAYBE EIGHT ACRES OF CROWN.
UM, SO IT'S, I THINK THE TECHNOLOGY, NO DOUBT THE TECHNOLOGY WILL CHANGE, BUT I WOULD SAY ON OUR CURRENT TECHNOLOGY, UM, YOUR RULE OF THUMB IS 10 MEGAWATTS PER ACRE IN MY PART OF THE WORLD.
IT'S ABOUT DOUBLE THAT BECAUSE WE ARE SO LOW IN WET AND SWAMPY, UM, AS TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES, CAN WE PRODUCE MORE MEGAWATTS ON LESS ACREAGE? THAT SEEMS A NATURAL ASSUMPTION.
[01:05:01]
UM, AND THEN JUST TO BE CLEAR ON THE REVENUE, SHARE TAXATION PIECE ON REVENUE, SHARE YOU, GO BY WHAT PJM TELLS THEM THEIR PROJECT IS PERMITTED FOR.I WAS JUST, JUST TRYING TO GET A YARD STICK HERE.
AND IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU'RE GOING TO WORST CASE, IF YOU'RE GOING TO TRY AND FIGURE OUT, WELL, WHAT IS THE, WHAT IS THE MINIMUM THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'D BE LOOKING AT, IT PROBABLY BE ABOUT 20 ACRES, UH, YOU KNOW, PER MEGA MEGAWATT.
AND THAT WAY, IF YOU FIGURE THAT IN, THEN YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO GO WRONG.
AND YEAH, BECAUSE YOU'RE ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE BUFFER LANDS.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU, UM, PROJECTS, OR, OR IF YOU, IF YOU DID THAT, YARDSTICK, YOUR PROJECTS ARE STILL BIG AND YOUR PROJECTS ARE BIGGER BECAUSE OF TOPOGRAPHICAL, EBBS AND FLOWS.
AND SOMETIMES LANDOWNERS SAY, UM, THEY SAY TO THIS LAND, WILL I ONLY NEED 20 OF YOUR RAKERS? AND HE'S GOING TO SAY, YOU'VE GOT TO BUY A HUNDRED, IF YOU WANT THAT 20.
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THAT CAN CONFLATE THE SOCIETY, THE SIZE OF A PROJECT, AND IT MAY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT'S UNDER PANEL.
YOU KNOW, ALL OF THESE LAND DEALS ARE VERY DIFFERENT.
SO THEN WE HAVE ONE OR TWO OR THREE LAND OWNERS.
SOME OF THESE LAND DEALS WE'LL HAVE 30, 40 LANDOWNERS.
UM, SO EVERY, EVERY SINGLE PROJECT IS DIFFERENT, SO DIFFERENT.
AND I THINK ROBERT WILL AGREE.
WE'VE NEVER SEEN A PROJECT, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, EVERY, EVERY PROJECT WE'VE SEEN IS DIFFERENT.
EVERY ONE IN MY COUNTY HAS BEEN VERY DIFFERENT.
THE ONE THING I WOULD ADD TO WHAT SUSAN HAS TALKED ABOUT IS, IS DON'T FORGET THAT WHAT WE HAVE ALSO SEEN IN OUR RESPECTIVE CAN, THESE IS LINKED TO THE VALUE OF THE PROPERTY AND WITH PANELS ON THE GROUND, WHAT WE'VE SEEN AND WHAT SOME OF OUR FOLKS HAVE TOLD US IS THAT GENERALLY THERE'S A, A LOW END OF AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 10,000 PER ACRE IN VALUATION WHEN PANELS ARE ON THE GROUND.
SO, SO IN ADDITION TO THE VARIOUS, YOU KNOW, THE VARIOUS MECHANISMS THAT SUSAN RELAYED IN TERMS OF THE OPTIONS YOU HAVE FOR, FOR, FOR REVENUE, FOR THAT, FOR THE SOLAR DEVELOPMENT ITSELF, YOU ALSO HAVE ON THE GROUND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCREASED VALUATION OF THE PROPERTY WHEN THE, WHEN THE PANELS ARE ON THE GROUND.
TH THE INCREASED REAL ESTATE TEXTS THAT YOU'LL COLLECT AGAIN.
AND I WILL SAY WE JUST ACTUALLY RAISED OUR VALUATION AND SUSSEX A TO 12,000 AN ACRE.
WE WERE AT 10, AND WE'VE NOW RAISED IT TO 12, IF IT'S CENTER PANEL.
AND WE ALSO APPLY THAT YARDSTICK, WE ARE NOW APPLYING THE 12,000, AN ACRE TO EVERYTHING BEHIND THE FENCE.
EVEN IF IT DOESN'T HAVE A PANEL, IF IT'S AN INTERNAL ROAD, IF IT'S WHERE THE SUBSTATION IS, IT FITS WHERE TRANSFORMERS ARE.
ONCE IT'S BEHIND THE FENCE IN OUR LOCALITY, WE'RE VALUING AT 12,000 AN ACRE.
SO, SO AS I SAID, IN FACT, I'VE FOUND AT ONE OF OUR COUNTIES IS ACTUALLY BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF DRAFTING.
UM, THERE, THERE ARE FUTURE SOLAR CONSIDERATIONS AND ARE LOOKING AT, UM, EVERYTHING FROM WHAT'S ON THE GROUND TO, TO THE, THE NUMBER OF ALLOWABLE ACRES FOR SOLAR MOVING FORWARD, AND THE CONSIDERATIONS FROM EVERYTHING, FROM REVENUE TO SOIL, TO EXISTING, YOU KNOW, FORESTRY AND AGRICULTURE RESOURCES, ET CETERA.
SO, SO A LOT THERE THAT ACTUALLY THAT WORK IS HAPPENING NOW IN THREE COUNTIES.
SO I HAVE A QUESTION, UM, WITH RESPECT TO VIEW SHED, UH, OUR COMMUNITY IS PRIMARILY TOURIST, UH, DRIVEN TOWARDS THEM AS OUR NUMBER ONE INDUSTRY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE VERY PROTECTIVE OF THE VIEW SHEDS.
AND HAVE YOU DEALT WITH THAT? AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE MITIGATION FOR THE, YOU KNOW, THE POTENTIAL, UM, FORGIVE ME UGLINESS OF THE SOLAR PANEL FARMS, AND THEY'RE NOT ATTRACTIVE.
UM, WELL, I WILL TELL YOU, WE ARE WE, UM, AND IN ONE OF THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS ABOUT OUR COALITION IS WHEN WE LEARN FROM EACH OTHER'S MISTAKES, BAD EXPERIENCES, GOOD EXPERIENCES, ET CETERA.
AND ONE THING I WOULD, I WOULD SAY TO YOU, UM, THE SECOND PROJECT WE PERMITTED, UM THE ONE THAT HAS BEEN SOLD, UM, BEFORE IT'S EVER TURNED ANY JUICE, UM, COMMUNICATION AND IN A KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROPOSED SITE IS KEY.
AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, TODAY, I SPENT THREE HOURS THIS AFTERNOON WITH MY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, MY PLANNING DIRECTOR, AND A SOLAR COMPANY THAT IS LOOKING TO DEVELOP A SITE, UH, ON A RECLAIMED,
[01:10:01]
UM, MINERAL MINE HERE IN THE COUNTY.AND IT'S, IT'S BASICALLY A BROWNFIELD SITE.
IT'S AN IDEAL SITE, UH, FOR SOLAR.
SO WHAT I WOULD ADVISE TO PROTECT YOUR VIEW SHED IS MAKE SURE COUNTY STAFF AND IN OUR COUNTY, UM, WE INVITE, UM, WHOEVER THE SUPERVISOR IS FOR THAT DISTRICT, UM, TO MAKE SURE THEY HAVE WRITTEN THE PROJECT BEFORE ANYTHING EVER HAPPENS.
AND I'LL TELL YOU WHY IT MATTERS.
UM, ON THIS SECOND PROJECT THAT WE PERMITTED, UM, WE HAD, UH, BUFFERS, UH, WE HAD A LOT OF REALLY GREAT, YOU KNOW, 30, 40, 50 YEAR OLD MIXED, UH, HARDWOOD, PINE, FOREST BUFFERS, UM, ALL ALONG HIGHWAY 40, PARTICULARLY LEADING INTO THE LARGEST TOWN IN THE COUNTY.
WE HAD THIS WONDERFUL, NATURAL BUFFER OF VARIOUS STABLISH TREES.
WELL SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN COMPANY A AND COMPANY B THE LAGER CAME IN AND CUT OVER 200 ACRES OF BUFFER.
HE CUT IN WETLANDS AND I WAS DRIVING TO THE COURTHOUSE ONE DAY AND ALMOST DROVE MY CAR INTO THE DITCH BECAUSE I SAID, WHERE IN THE WORLD DID THE BUFFER FOR THIS PROJECT GUN? UM, AND THE NEW OWNER HAS ACCEPTED THAT RESPONSIBILITY.
THAT PROJECT COST IS GOING TO GO UP BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING TO BE PLANTING, YOU KNOW, A FEW HUNDRED ACRES OF PINE TREES.
AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, 15 YEARS OF NOT SO GREAT UNTIL THOSE PINE TREES GROW UP TO PROVIDE THAT NATURAL BUFFER.
AND SO TO YOUR POINT, VIEW SHED IS CRITICAL.
UM, AND, AND I SPENT TODAY ON THIS NEW PROPOSED PROJECT, I MADE THEM DRIVE ME BY EVERY SINGLE IMPACTED DWELLING AND WE SPENT MOST OF THE DAY TALKING ABOUT VIEW SHED.
SO, UM, I WOULD SAY THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT VIEW SHED IS TO EARLY ON FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE PROJECT, ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPER, UM, TO, TO HOLD OFF ON LOGGING, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE UNTIL YOU GET, IF NOT AN APPROVED SITE PLAN, A REALLY GOOD IDEA OF WHERE THINGS ARE GOING TO BE, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF A PROJECT NOW WHERE THAT, THAT SLIPPED AND, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR CITIZENS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK AT IT AND THE PROJECT COST IS GOING TO GO UP.
UM, AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK DIALOGUE FAMILIARITY AND, AND REALLY WORK WITH THAT DEVELOPER, UM, TO, TO EVENT IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, YOUR VIEW SHED AREAS THAT ARE REALLY IMPACTFUL AND THE BEST PROTECTION FOR VIEW SHED IS IF YOU HAVE EXISTING MATURE WOODS, HOLD ONTO THEM, IDENTIFY THEM AND HOLD ONTO THEM BECAUSE THAT IS GOING TO BE YOUR BEST, UH, VIEW SHED PROTECTOR.
AND ONE OF, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SOME OF OUR COUNTIES, AGAIN, LOCATED IN THAT GENERAL HISTORIC ANIMATICS REGION, THAT SOUTH SIDE AREA WHERE IT GETS UP AND ALSO, UH, AN AWFUL LOT OF TOURISM AS WELL.
THEY, THEY ACTUALLY WENT AHEAD AND WITH THE GROUP OF, OF THEIR, THEIR PLANNING, UM, AND, AND LEADERSHIP PRE IDENTIFIED SELECTED SITES THAT THEY PUSH DEVELOPERS TOWARD RATHER THAN BEING PRESELECTED BY THE DEVELOPER.
THEY PRESELECTED THOSE SITES THEMSELVES, AND IT PUSHED DEVELOPMENT ON THOSE AREAS.
YOU KNOW, THAT THAT ARE, ARE, ARE, ARE, ARE MORE REFINED WITH RESPECT TO THE, YOU SHOULD SPEAK VOLUMES AND THAT'S WHERE YOUR COMP PLAN CAN COME IN.
BECAUSE AGAIN, IF YOU, TO ROBERT'S POINT, YOU GO AHEAD AND IDENTIFY THOSE, THOSE AREAS THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR THE TOURISM INDUSTRY.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN, YOU CAN SORT OF WRAP THEM IN BUBBLE WRAP AND PROTECT THEM IN ADVANCE.
UM, AND THEN CERTAINLY GET INTO THE WEEDS ON A, ON AN INDIVIDUAL PROJECT EARLIER, RATHER THAN LATER.
I HAVE ONE QUESTION YOU HAVEN'T TOUCHED ON, UM, BATTERY STORAGE FACILITIES AND WHAT ARE THE PITFALLS OF DEALING WITH BATTERY STORAGE FACILITIES? WELL, SURE.
AND, AND SO IT'S A REALITY THAT'S HITTING EVERYBODY'S WAY.
AND SO WHAT ANNA AND SUSAN CAN SPEAK TO IT MORE BROADLY, BUT, BUT A LOT, MOST OF OUR FOLKS ARE ADDING BETTER BATTERY STORAGE WITHIN, WITHIN THEIR, THEIR CONDITIONAL USE AND SOME OTHER THINGS.
[01:15:01]
SO, SO YEAH, WELL, I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, I THINK BECAUSE A SIX WAS ONE OF THE VERY EARLY COUNTIES, UM, IN, IN THE SOLAR, UH, ARENA, UM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE FIRST PERMITTED FREESTANDING BATTERY STORAGE FACILITY IN THE STATE.UM, THAT PROJECT WAS DEVELOPED BY EAST COAST ENERGY OUT OF CHARLOTTESVILLE AND BOUGHT, UH, BY DOMINION POWER.
SO WE ARE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH DOMINION ON THIS BATTERY STORAGE PROJECT.
AND WHAT I WOULD SAY, UH, TO BATTERY STORAGE SIGHTING IS CRITICAL.
UM, WE, WE APPROVED THIS PROJECT IT'S ON, UH, 30 ACRES IN LITERALLY THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE IN OUR COUNTY.
WE HAVE NO ADJACENT, UM, RESIDENCES OR BUILDINGS WE HAVE NO WELL OR GRAIL MOTOR, NO, NO GROUNDWATER CONCERNS RELATIVE TO RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL WELLS.
UM, AND, UH, SO BASICALLY WE'VE GOT A 30 ACRE, UH, AREA, UM, ADJACENT TO A SUBSTATION IN A VERY ISOLATED PART OF THE COUNTY.
UM, AND OF THAT 30 ACRES, THERE WILL BE ABOUT A FOUR ACRE CONCRETE PAD, UM, WITH BATTERIES, UH, ON THAT PAD.
UM, THE BIGGEST THING, AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE DONE IN THE COALITION, UM, WE HAVE A SEVEN PAGE LIST OF RECOMMENDED CONDITIONS, UH, FOR BATTERY STORAGE, BE IT FREESTANDING OR PART OF A LARGER UTILITY SCALE SOLAR PROJECT.
UM, I THINK MORE AND MORE PROJECTS ARE GOING TO HAVE BATTERY STORAGE AS A COMPONENT.
UM, BUT SAFETY REALLY IS THE PARAMOUNT CONCERN.
AND, UM, IN OUR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, WE WORKED, UM, EXTENSIVELY WITH DOMINION, UM, ON THE TRAINING OF OUR FIRST RESPONDERS.
UM, THESE BATTERIES, SHOULD THEY CATCH FIRE? UH, YOU DON'T TREAT THEM LIKE REGULAR FIRE.
YOU DON'T COME IN AND DOUSE THEM WITH WATER.
UM, THEY HAVE THEIR OWN SAFETY AND MONITORING SYSTEMS. THEY ARE BASICALLY DESIGNED TO BE SELF-CONTAINED.
UM, AND THERE IS, UM, AN EDUCATION COMPONENT THAT GOES INTO PREPARING YOUR FIRST RESPONDERS AND BASICALLY, UM, THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY SORT OF FOREST RUSH RESTRUCTURE FIRE OUTSIDE OF THE FENCE.
AND THESE, THESE INSTALLATIONS ARE DESIGNED TO, UM, WITH SPRINKLER SYSTEMS, ET CETERA, UM, TO SORT OF SELF-CONTAINED.
BUT, UM, AGAIN, AND WHEN WE APPROVED THAT PROJECT, WE DID DO A CASH PROFFER OF $50,000.
UM, GIVEN THE SMALL SIZE OF THAT PROJECT, WE DID A $50,000 CASH PROFFER THAT ALSO WENT INTO OUR, UH, FIRE TRUCK ROTATION FUND, BASICALLY.
UM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, LOCATION OF THOSE FACILITIES, IN MY OPINION IS KEY.
UM, HAD THAT BEEN IN A, UH, DENSELY POPULATED RESIDENTIAL AREA.
UM, I DOUBT THAT I WOULD HAVE SUPPORTED LOCATING IT THERE.
UM, BUT IT WAS REALLY IN A VERY ISOLATED AREA.
UM, THE OTHER THING ABOUT BATTERY STORAGE, IF IT'S GOING TO BE FREE STANDING STORAGE, UM, LIKE, LIKE A UTILITY SCALE SOLAR PROJECT, IT IS GOING TO BE NEAR A POWER LINE OR IS IT'S GOING TO BE A HIGH VOLTAGE LINE OF TRANSMISSION LINE AND, OR NEAR A, AN EXISTING SUBSTATION.
UM, YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FIND SOMEONE APPROACHING YOU, UM, TO PUT IN A BATTERY INSTALLATION IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIELD.
UH, IF THAT FIELD IS NOT ADJACENT TO A SUBSTATION OR A TRANSMISSION LINE, UH, THEY'RE GOING TO BE VERY LIKE UTILITY SCALE SOLAR.
THEY'RE GOING TO BE VERY LOCATION SPECIFIC.
UM, BUT, BUT AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, W WE FOUND A GOOD PLACE FOR IT, AND, UH, WE ARE WORKING WITH DOMINION.
UM, IT IS, UH, UNDER CONSTRUCTION AS WE SPEAK ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT? I DON'T BELIEVE ME.
I JUST LIKE TO MAKE ONE COMMENT.
I'M MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING AND POWER SUPPLY AT RAPPAHANNOCK ELECTRIC.
AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE NO MATTER, NO MATTER WHAT THAT THEY CALL YOUR POWER COMPANY.
UM, WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF TIMES THAT THEY MIGHT GO THROUGH PJM, BUT THEY DON'T, THEY DON'T CONNECT WITH THE LOCAL POWER COMPANY, WHETHER IT'S DOMINION OR FIRST ENERGY OR COOPERATIVE.
[01:20:02]
AND THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT THAT HAPPENS AND THAT THEY ALL FOLLOW THE STATE ON THIS SORT OF THING.SO LATE, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF COUNTIES WITHIN OUR JURISDICTION WITH W WHO HAD, WHO DO THAT AND HAVE REGULAR GREAT COMMUNICATION WITH THEIR YES.
AND OF COURSE WE HAVE SOME THAT DON'T SO THAT'S, BUT WE ALWAYS ENCOURAGE THAT BY THE WAY, EXTRA CAN GET, AND MOST OF THEM HAVE GREAT RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR LIVES.
WELL, W WE LOVE OUR CO-OPS WHERE WE'RE A CO-OP COUNTY AND PRINCE GEORGE ELECTRIC IS OUR CO-OP.
SO WE ALWAYS WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM, BUT YEAH, NO, IT'S GOOD.
I'M GLAD YOU CHIMED IN WITH THAT.
WE ALL KNOW WHERE OUR LIGHTS GO OFF TO CALL YOU, BUT I'M NOT SURE I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT TO CALL YOU TO DISCUSS THIS.
ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? SO I HAVE ONE MORE CHAIRMAN COLORS.
UH, SO ONE OF MY QUESTIONS, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER THAT FOR A COUNTY TO JOIN THE RSD, SEE IT'S $5,000 A YEAR.
AND SO THAT'S, SO DO WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT OR ANY, YOU KNOW, A TERM OF AGREEMENT OR WHAT THAT ENTAILS US TO, WILL WE DO IT? YES, MA'AM.
AND WE DO A SCOPE OF WORK WITH, AND WITH A LETTER TO SEND TO EVERYBODY AND THE FIRST OF THE YEAR, AND WE WILL JUST SEND THAT TO YOU IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, REACH OUT TO SUSAN AND SHE, YOU KNOW, I'LL PROVIDE HER A COPY AND CAN, SHE CAN SHOOT IT TO YOU.
WELL, HEARING ANOTHER OTHER QUESTIONS, WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOU, UM, PRESENTING THIS TONIGHT.
I KNOW I FOUND IT VERY INFORMATIVE AT THE FARM BUREAU MEETING AND GIVES US A LOT OF THINGS TO THINK ABOUT THAT WE HADN'T ALREADY.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS SAY IF SOMEBODY CAN LEARN FROM, YOU KNOW, THE GOOD OR BAD CHOICES THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, MY COUNTY HAS MADE, WE'VE CERTAINLY LEARNED A LOT IN THE PAST FOUR YEARS.
AND, UM, I THINK LEARNING FROM ONE ANOTHER HAS BEEN HIGHLY EFFECTIVE WITHIN THE COALITION.
ALRIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU AGAIN.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME TO SAVE AND THANK YOU.
AND WE APPRECIATE EVERYONE THAT CAME FROM, UM, OUR SURROUNDING AREAS WITH HOPE YOU FOUND IT HELPFUL, WHO ALL IS REPRESENTED PAGE CLARK, RAPPAHANNOCK COOPERATIVE.
NOW I SEE YOUR EMBLEM AND I WILL REITERATE WHAT LISA, PLEASE CALL US, OR PLEASE GET THESE PEOPLE WITH ALL THIS WORK.
WE'RE HAPPY TO SUPPORT IN ANY WAY.
I AM A BIG BELIEVER IN REGIONAL, UM, WORKSHOPS AND, AND SO FORTH.
SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN DO SOME MORE IN THE FUTURE.
I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU ALSO FOR INVITING US.
UM, IT WAS, IT WAS ACTUALLY VERY AWFUL WHERE WE'RE ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT THIS AND, YOU KNOW, IN THAT CANNON COUNTY, I MEAN, WE'RE MARRIED PART OF OUR COUNTY TO YOUR POINT.
YOU GET AN INGESTED VIEW OF THE SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK AREAS, AND THERE MAY BE A KEY PLACES FOR THE HIGHEST AND BEST USE IS GOING TO BE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT.
AND THERE AREN'T GOING TO BE A LOT OF DEVICES.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE REALLY CAREFUL AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF UP OUR, UP OUR NAME ON THIS.
I'M ON THE SOUTHERN END AT BENTONVILLE.
I KNOW THIS IS A BIG TOPIC IN YOUR COUNTY.
WELL, WE HOPE IT HELPED, SO, AND EVERYONE HAVE A SAFE TRIP HOME.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH, EVERYBODY.