New utility-scale solar projects in the pipeline for Johnson County

A recently proposed solar project would, if approved, claim the largest utility-scale solar footprint in Johnson County. It comes at the heels of county officials giving their seal of approval for a smaller solar project in the area.

Johnson County already has two utility-scale solar projects, said Nathan Mueller, the assistant director of the Johnson County Planning, Development & Sustainability Department.

A 3-megawatt MidAmerican Energy Company solar facility spreads across 15 acres north of the City of Hills. And Farmers Electric Cooperative, a nonprofit utility serving members in six counties, draws power from its 1.5-megawatt solar project on nine acres near Frytown.

Per the county’s solar ordinances, projects larger than 20 acres must apply to be rezoned for renewable energy usage. They must seek approval from the Johnson County Planning and Zoning Commission and then the Board of Supervisors. Projects smaller than 20 acres can opt to apply for a conditional use permit by the Johnson County Board of Adjustment.

Lone Tree Solar Project, proposed by Houston-based developer PCR US Investments, would be the first solar application to be presented to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors for approval.

“Once we go through that hearing process, and you can hear the elected officials’ comments and see how they act on the first application that will come before them as a rezoning, that'll be pretty telling as to where Johnson County may be headed in terms of solar energy in the future,” Mueller said.

Lone Tree Solar Project

The Lone Tree Solar Project would cover 50 acres of land about three miles northwest of Lone Tree.

If approved, the project would be constructed over eight months and be completed in the spring of 2025. It would include more than 16,000 solar panels. The 7.5-megawatt facility would operate for approximately 30 years before being decommissioned.

The application was prepared by PCR US Investments, which would construct and operate the facility. The company is leasing the land from the original owner. The generated power would feed into the power grid via an existing nearby substation.

The land is home to an unnamed tributary to Otter Creek and about half an acre of wetland surrounding the waterway. That area will be void of panels and equipment and receive conservation easements, according to PCR’s most recent application. It would also be coated in pollinator habitat. Low-growing native and naturalized plant species would be planted under and surrounding the solar arrays.

PCR Investments filed its initial application Feb. 9 for the project area to be rezoned for renewable energy. It is currently zoned for agriculture. The company has been tweaking its application ever since, per the county’s revisions. The most recent application is dated Sept. 25 and was met with another corrections letter from the county on Oct. 13.

Once the application is in line with county requirements, it will go to a public hearing with the Zoning Commission to receive a recommendation. Then, it will go on to a public hearing with the Board of Supervisors, which will make the final decision.

“Their hope is to be up for public hearing in the next couple of months here,” Mueller said.

PCR Investments still is deciding whether it will own and operate the project through its life span or coordinate with a utility for potential sale, said company chief construction and engineering officer Cynthia Schuchner. The company already has solar and storage developments across the U.S.

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Farmers Electric Solar Farm

Another utility-scale solar project just completed Johnson County’s application approval process: the Farmers Electric Solar Farm in Washington Township near Kalona, filed by Farmers Electric Cooperative July 20.

The solar installation will cover 3.5 acres of a 6.4-acre parcel currently zoned for agriculture. The property has been used for crops since at least the late 1800s, according to the company’s most recent letter of intent. Farmers Electric Cooperative purchased the land from the previous owner. Surrounding landowners signed that they didn’t object to the solar site.

The project will have a generating capacity of 998 kilowatts of direct current, which is a little less than 1 megawatt, and will power around 220 homes every year, according to the letter of intent. The ground underneath will be blanketed in pollinator habitat.

Like the Lone Tree Solar Project, the Farmers Electric Solar Farm is expected to last 30 to 40 years. After its expected life span, the site could be repowered or returned to agricultural use, the co-op said in its letter of intent.

The project was approved by the Johnson County Board of Adjustment on Sept. 20, including a condition that vegetation be planted along the nearby Highway 1 to block glare for motorists.

The site will allow Farmers Electric Cooperative to increase its renewable generation usage from 15 percent to 23 percent.

Brittney J. Miller is the Energy & Environment Reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com