Development representatives held an open house at the Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gering this week to address questions and concerns about the Situla Energy solar project proposed for southwestern Scotts Bluff County.
Dunlieh Energy Vice President of Business Development Scott Ickes addressed numerous issues surrounding the project Wednesday evening, including emergency response, road use, national security approval efforts and workforce.
Ickes was also asked about where the power generated would be consumed, to which he said electricity may be fungible once in the grid, but there are limits.
“You cannot wheel power from western Nebraska to California and have that be anywhere close to being a profitable endeavor. You will get eaten up. You won’t have any power left by the time you get to California. Its losses will chew it up. So the electricity coming up is going to go into Wapas grid. Generally speaking, game, it’s intellectually honest to say it will, for the most part, be consumed in the Rocky Mountain region,” Ickes said.
He was also asked about the required $800 million investment to build the project, and he explained green energy firm Treehouse Capital out of Minneapolis would oversee that aspect to attract investors. “The Inflation Reduction Act, what it does is makes available tax credits, either from an investment tax credit, which is you get a tax credit up front, or a production tax credit, which you can harvest tax benefits over the life of the project,” said Ickes. “So it’s really a function of which financial structure works best for a company to harvest those tax benefits.” Blackrock or State Street were examples of venture capital firms mentioned that could be interested.
Ickes said the plan is to source all materials inside the U.S., and while there are some related supply chain issues inside the country, the company will partner with one of the top suppliers in the industry.
With regard to local impacts, Ickes said project staff are working on a plan to try to minimize the truck traffic impact, especially on county roads, and are looking at using a circular route to bring semis into and out of the construction area. He also said the company would be reaching out to the Gering and Scottsbluff Fire Departments to discuss emergency response in case of an incident during construction or after operations begin.
Among federal reviews and approvals that would be sought prior to funding and project start is that of the U.S. Department of Defense, a process that Ickes said was already underway.
The proposal still needs approval of a conditional use permit, with plans to begin construction late this year, and the start of production by the end of 2025.
