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Utility-scale solar is a type of solar power facility that connects to the local grid and generates enough electricity to serve many customers, unlike a rooftop or private installation serving a single home or business. These projects feature ground-mounted solar infrastructure that tracks the sun throughout the day, so the best-suited sites for utility-scale solar facilities are areas of open land near an existing substation or electric transmission line. The suitability of some farmland for utility-scale solar development provides a unique income opportunity for interested landowners to sustain their family farms without opening up their land to permanent development.
To meet the demand for clean, emissions-free electricity in the United States, more land is required than just remediation sites or rooftops. While many structures and properties can accommodate a solar array, a utility-scale project requires additional conditions: landowners willing to participate in the project, access to areas of power demand, and access to transmission infrastructure with available capacity to take on new power. The Beavertail Solar Project will only temporarily use 0.0004% of Missouri’s agricultural land while providing economic and environmental benefits to Henry County. At the end of the project’s life, it will be decommissioned and the infrastructure removed at the operator’s expense, and land will be available to farm for future generations.
Utility-scale solar projects provide landowners with an opportunity to exercise their private property rights and add value to their land while shielding it from permanent development. Solar projects generate clean, low-cost solar energy for families and businesses, contribute significant new tax revenue, and create local jobs during construction. Solar projects operate with little noise, little traffic, and little to no burden on public services. Land used for the project can be converted back for agricultural use at the end of the project’s life span.
Specifically, in Henry County, Ranger Power looks forward to being a vested partner in the community, making contributions to support basic services, education and youth programs, and causes that celebrate residents, culture, and community.
The Beavertail Solar Project has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google to support the power needs of Google’s recently-announced $1 billion data center in Kansas City, Missouri’s Northland. We are thrilled with Google’s investment in Missouri and the opportunity to partner with a pioneer in computing infrastructure. The project will connect to the local electric grid using the existing transmission infrastructure, so while the power is contracted, the electrons themselves will flow in the direction of demand.
No, the Beavertail Solar Project will be privately owned and funded by investors. Like every source of energy in the United States, solar projects receive certain tax incentives, but this is not direct funding, so there is no use of taxpayer funds. In fact, rather than borrowing from the public purse, the project expects to add at least $1 million each year to local taxing districts.
The project expects to generate enough electricity to power more than 60,000 Missouri households and represents a multimillion-dollar total investment. Beavertail Solar would contribute at least $1 million annually to Henry County’s tax base during the project’s lifespan, helping to fund schools, local infrastructure, first responders, and other essential county services.
Overall, Beavertail provides a unique opportunity for the Henry County community to experience the benefits of new development without increasing the burden on local services or opening farmland to permanent development (i.e.: a housing development). Solar projects bring new funding streams for local landowners and governments, create jobs, and generate power without contributing emissions to the land, air, or water.
After the project’s lifespan, the land can be used for various purposes at the freedom and discretion of the landowner. One feature that makes hosting utility-scale solar projects attractive to landowners is the relative ease with which the land can be restored and returned to traditional farming. When a solar project reaches the end of its contract, the project is obligated to remove project equipment and restore the site to its original condition. Solar projects offer farmers the best of both worlds: a long-term, stable source of predictable income that does not come at the expense of farmland preservation.
Solar panels generate electricity silently. Some equipment associated with the project’s operations, such as inverters, may produce a soft humming sound that will be located far from adjacent properties and will not be audible beyond the project’s boundaries nor at night.
One common misconception is that solar projects decrease nearby property values. There is little evidence for this. A review of home sales near other similar projects suggests that property values are not adversely affected, as does input from local town and county assessors in rural areas where similar projects have been constructed. Solar projects operate quietly and bring little traffic to the area post-construction, and vegetative screening between the project and nearby residences reduces visual impacts.
Solar panels generate electricity by absorbing sunlight, so for efficiency purposes, they are designed to reflect as little light as possible. Solar modules are flat, have a relatively smooth surface, and are covered with anti-reflective coatings. Because of this, glare is unlikely to cause issues for project neighbors. The Beavertail Solar Project will adhere to setbacks of at least 150 feet between panels and residences and at least 30 feet between panels and public roads. Additionally, the Project will install and maintain vegetation between abutting residences and project infrastructure to help lessen any visual impacts.
Yes, solar energy is one of the lowest-impact forms of energy production. Solar generating facilities are low to the ground, produce no emissions during their operating life, and do not create odors or harmful byproducts. Solar panels contain no liquids and will not release any toxic or hazardous substances into the environment. Solar projects provide benefits to the environment by conserving water and providing a chance for farmland to rest so that the soil may recuperate.
Protecting our natural resources, including the environment and wildlife, are at the core of our development principles for the Beavertail Solar Project. The project has completed extensive environmental studies and consulted with federal and state agencies, including U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and Missouri Department of Conservation. The results of the studies show no significant impact from the project to wildlife or the environment. Agricultural land considered for solar is flat, cleared, and reasonably free of trees, so installing solar panels requires little grading and does not disturb existing wildlife habitat. Solar panels do not emit any materials into the soil, water, or air, and the planting of long-term native groundcover can restore soil nutrients, limit erosion, and improve groundwater quality.
Solar panels are and have long been operating on roofs or alongside schools, homes, businesses, churches, government buildings, and farms; all of these use cases reinforce the fact that panels pose no toxic threat to their surroundings. Solar panels consist of photovoltaic cells that generate electricity when exposed to sunlight, sandwiched between two high-strength shatterproof glass panels (or a glass panel front with a solid plastic back sheet), with an aluminum frame and wiring. The Environmental Protection Agency tests panels by crushing them into small pieces which are then mixed in an acid bath, after which the fluid is tested for hazardous substances, including heavy metals. Solar panels and other materials that pass this “Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure” (TCLP) and thus do not pose a threat of contamination and may be disposed of in regular municipal landfills.
A solar array is among the safest methods for producing electricity, and the risk of fire hazard is extremely low. With few exceptions, the components of a solar farm are not flammable, and the panels themselves and the supporting piles and racking do not burn. The primary risk of fire within a solar farm is from grass during dry times of the year, similar to the same risk that exists for pasture land or hay fields.
The Beavertail Solar Project will use 24/7 remote monitoring systems that will detect any deficiencies in equipment and provide notification to promptly address problems in the unlikely event that an emergency arises. Ranger Power has already engaged with local fire departments and first responders and will provide access to a lockbox with keys in the case of fire, as well as ensuring sufficient space for firefighting activities and provide training and education to safety personnel.