The Richland County Zoning Board unanimously approved development of a 50MW solar system on 800 acres of land that will be leased by three farmers in Buena Vista Township. The County attorney is currently reviewing the contract before the conditional use permit is issued. Tradewind Energy, a solar and wind developer based in Kansas, is in the early stages of developing the solar project that is projected to be operational in 2021. It will consist of pole-mounted solar trackers to be underplanted with pollinator plants. Tradewind will develop and operate the solar system, and is responsible to decommission the system at the end of its 30-year life.
The solar project is expected to provide $233,500 annually in increased tax revenue to the county, township, school district and technical college. It will provide income to the landowners, and approximately 300 jobs to the local economy during construction, with 2-3 permanent jobs to operate and maintain the solar project. after completion. tradewind