Power County solar complex begins construction after big delay

You could say Power County’s building administrator, Bob Steinlicht, has been waiting awhile to get going on the county’s solar farm complex.

“This ground has sat idle for almost a year,” Steinlicht said. “Now that it’s started and you can see things happening— it’s quite an exciting time.”

After the plan for the project got the green light from the Power County Planning and Zoning Board in May 2015 and its special use permits were approved in September 2015, construction was supposed to begin early spring of this year.

However, the original company under the project SunEdison filed bankruptcy earlier this year and sold the project to Capital Dynamics.

Even with a new company managing the project, it will still remain the same. The complex will still be 400 acres big, with 390 of it being occupied with solar panels. The remaining 10 will be a substation. It will also still produce 40-megawatts of power.

“The only thing that changed was the ownership,” Steinlicht said.

The project will now be completed by Jan. 2017, with it being operational by Jan. 31. That puts it a month after it’s original completion date, but Steinlicht isn’t too worried about it.

“Power County is very blessed and unique in the fact we have alternate energy sources both in wind, now in solar and of course in hydro power,” he said. “Power County has lived up to its name.”

The power produced by the complex is enough to power 15,000 homes. The power will be sold to Idaho Power.

Power County is slated to get $225,000 annually from the complex.