Construction on a 50-MW solar project being undertaken by renewable energy developer Pattern Energy Group LP in Clinton County, Ohio, currently is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2020, according to a presentation made to the county's board of commissioners.
The board heard about the project from James Madson, Pattern Energy's senior manager of project and business development, at its Oct. 7 meeting. To be set on 450 acres of private property in Clark Township, the project would surpass the annual load demand of 10,000 houses, Pattern said.
A power purchase agreement with an Ohio company is the works, but details of the deal remain under wraps, Pattern Energy said. Pattern Energy said the project would be decommissioned and removed at the end of its 35- to 40-year lifespan. Several environmental assessments and analyses, including a pollinator habitat plan, still are being conducted.
Pattern Energy anticipates that up to two full-time operations employees will be needed to serve the site and that another 125 temporary, local construction jobs that will be created by the project.
San Francisco-based Pattern Energy has developed over 5,000 MW of renewable energy projects across markets in the U.S., Canada, Chile, Japan and Mexico. Madson was unavailable for comment, and company spokesman Matt Dallas declined to answer questions related to taxation and regulatory next steps. "This project is still at an early stage, and, unfortunately, we are not disclosing any further info at this time," Dallas said.
