The Swan Solar project, a 650 megawatt solar farm slated to begin construction in western Bates county last month shows no sign of ground breaking.
So, what's the hold up? A myriad of things beginning with a 1 year moratorium set by Linn county Kansas, prohibiting setting of power poles and lines needed to connect the solar farm to the grid near the LaCygne power plant. Subsequently, that action has prompted a lawsuit against Linn county on behalf of Clearway Energy, who is leading the project.
In the meantime however, Clearway has offered Linn county $850,000 in hopes of remedying the situation but despite the temptation of a big cash infusion, it appears that the Linn county commissioners haven't said yes. For that matter, they haven't said no either.
On the Missouri side, earlier this year the Bates county commission came to an agreement with Clearway regarding terms of the project which included approximately $1.5 million annually for the Miami School along with other monies such as a $500,000 up front payment to Bates county.
So far, Clearway is yet to return the signed contract to Bates county officials.
Likewise, no $500,000 check either.
Interestingly, the delay has far reaching repercussions as another proposed solar project by NextEra, also to be located near Amsterdam, appears on hold as well; one could only guess that NextEra is waiting for an outcome on the Swan project before making any moves.
From the outside looking in, it may be awhile before there's any movement on the Swan Solar project. With that in mind, Mid America Live has reached out to Clearway for an update and will publish the outcome accordingly.
The Swan Solar project website here https://www.swanenergycenter.com/
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