Fiction #8: “There will never be a manufacturing plant in Cle Elum; panels will just be shipped in from other cities.”
Fact: We are expressly stipulating with the manufacturer that a manufacturing plant must be moved to the Cle Elum area. Any panel manufacturer under consideration knows this will be part of the deal: jobs for Cle Elum. It is our intention to help grow the Washington market for solar panels by locating a manufacturer here. Washington State law promotes the purchase of solar equipment made in Washington through sales tax breaks. We want Washingtonians to take advantage of this incentive by purchasing locally made and environmentally-sound products. Our initial purchase of 400,000 panels will establish a plant that can continue to manufacture with the demand of future panel buyers for their homes or businesses in Kittitas County, Washington State and the entire United States. We even have had offers from local property owners and looked at locations for a manufacturing plant.
Line Break
Line Break
Tagged as: Cle Elum, economics, jobs, Kittitas County, PV solar, solar panels, teanaway solar reserveLine Break
Line Break
Posted on January 12th, 2010 | No Comments »
Fiction #7: “450 construction workers driving through our rural communities all day.”
Fact: Teanaway Solar Reserve is developing a comprehensive transportation road plan for the construction of the reserve. We are developing a transportation plan for construction workers and equipment and detailed information about any necessary road improvements. Our goal is to have as little impact as possible to our neighbors during construction and to limit trips to the site. This will include shuttle vehicles to transport workers, a dust plan, and drainage, limited paving and snow removal plans. Upon completion of the project we will maintain our access roads to the benefit of the reserve and neighboring residents.
Line Break
Line Break
Tagged as: dust, forest, Kittitas County, PV solar, roads, teanaway solar reserve, viewLine Break
Line Break
Posted on January 8th, 2010 | No Comments »
Fiction #4: “The estimates of jobs and economic benefits are dramatically inflated.”
Fact: The Teanaway Solar Reserve will create approximately 225 jobs during a two-three year construction phase. The calculation is pretty straightforward since it is based on the volume of work entailed in the installation of 400,000 panels on the proposed site. Once it’s generating power, we’ll need to hire at least 35 permanent employees to operate and maintain the project. We are requiring that our manufacturing partner locate an assembly plant in Cle Elum, which will create even more jobs in addition to the above figures.
An economic study estimates that $97 million in sales tax revenues will be pumped into Kittitas County during construction. Plus, the project will continue to generate a significant revenue stream once it’s operational. More than $1.5 million annually in property tax revenues will go directly to the county and its various taxing districts. Every year this includes $263,000 to Cle Elum-Roslyn public schools, $330,000 to local roads, and $92,000 to the hospital. These statistics are derived from the projected total cost of the project, which is expected to run between $300-350 million depending upon the price of the panels at the time the manufacturer deal is signed.
Line Break
Line Break
Tagged as: economics, jobs, Kittitas County, PV solar, revenue, teanaway solar reserveLine Break
Line Break
Posted on December 29th, 2009 | No Comments »
Fiction #3: “Snow will cover the solar panels for months in winter.”
Fact: Snow won’t come anywhere close to burying the panels. According to decades of weather data collected by the Western Regional Climate Center -- a partnership between NOAA, the National Weather Service and the American Association of State Climatologists -- the average snow depth or accumulation in Cle Elum ranges between 1” to 8” from November to March. These snow levels will not affect the project since the panels will be mounted three feet above ground. Furthermore, most snow will melt or slide off the panels; any that remains will be cleared.
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa1504
Line Break
Line Break
Tagged as: Kittitas County, PV solar, snow, teanaway solar reserve, winterLine Break
Line Break
Posted on December 28th, 2009 | No Comments »
Fiction #2: “The solar array will be an eyesore for miles around.”
Fact: By far, the best view of the project will be from an airplane. Engineers studied the potential visual impact from numerous vantage points and contrary to depictions put forth by opponents, the project will have a minimal visual impact. First off, the panels are not reflective; in fact, a non-reflective coating is added to panels during construction. Second, the panels will be spaced out across approximately 600 acres, with grasses and shrubs left to grow underneath and between them. Third, the panels – which measure roughly 3’ x 5’ and will be mounted just over three feet above ground – will not break the horizon. Fourth, there will be a thick ring of trees surrounding the project. Finally, members of Pine Hills Ranch, which shares a border with our proposed project, met with us to share their concerns. As a result of the meeting, our engineers went back to the drawing board and reconfigured the panel arrays in order to reduce visual impacts from their property.
Line Break
Line Break
Tagged as: Kittitas County, PV solar, teanaway solar reserve, viewLine Break
Line Break
Posted on December 23rd, 2009 | No Comments »
Fiction #1: “The project will cause the destruction of nearly 600 acres of pristine forest in the Cascade mountains.”
Fact: Several weeks ago we posted on our Web site footage of the property taken during a helicopter flyover. The video verifies that we’re not dealing with pristine forestland. The property has been logged numerous times over the last century, most recently in 2001. It is true that some of the remaining scattered trees will need to be removed in order to avoid a “shadowing” effect on the panels. But as we announced at our October 22nd public meeting at the Cle Elum middle school, we will plant three trees for every one that is taken out.
Line Break
Line Break
Tagged as: forest, Kittitas County, logging, PV solar, teanaway solar reserveLine Break
Line Break
Posted on December 23rd, 2009 | No Comments »
