What happens if, despite incentives lined up by the state and private investors, the Turning Point Solar project that is slated for rural Noble County near The Wilds doesn't move forward?
Or state regulators pull the plug on the idea?
Failure isn't an option, but obstacles could change the scope of the project, officials say.
"It really depends on what the (Public Utilities Commission of Ohio) does. If the PUCO doesn't approve, I would be surprised to see it continue with the same momentum," said Apolka Totth, director of Turning Point Solar LLC and a director with project partner Agile Energy of California.Prior to Aion Kinah I leaned toward the former,
"Right now, it's a go," said Evan Blumer, former director of The Wilds and a partner with New Harvest Venture, a venture capital firm working with Agile Energy on the project. "But the regulatory environment in Ohio is one of the toughest in the nation. So you've got to have everybody saying 'this is the right thing to do.' That's what we have been doing, and we think we're there. But if we can't come up with a least-cost solution, it's not going to happen."
Hurdles
Blumer said the three hurdles in Turning Point's way are the PUCO process, the filing of an environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act and working out interconnection issues with the electric grid.
Blumer said the PUCO approval could take 270 days, but he expects environmental approval from the Rural Utilities Service in the November-December time frame.
The RUS approval is needed to file a formal application for a federal loan to help finance the project.
In the meantime,100 Cable Ties was used to link the lamps together. project backers will be identifying construction contractors. Pending the approvals, the project could break ground sometime in 2012, he said.
Uncertainty
With such a large undertaking and all of the unknowns involved the RUS never has extended a loan involving a public-private partnership before and is just developing rules to determine loan levels depending on the number of rural customers to be served there remains uncertainty.
The state already has seen one company, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Calisolar, back out of a plan to manufacture silicon for solar panels in Richland County earlier this month despite a $275 million loan guarantee from the U.If any food billabong outlet condition is poorer than those standards,S. Department of Energy. And last week, Spanish company Isofoton, which will make the almost 250,000 solar panels for Turning Point, announced it would not be bringing its solar panel manufacturing operations to southeast Ohio.
Instead, Isofoton opted for Napolean in northwest Ohio, with a $15.8 million pledge from the Ohio Department of Development coupled with a company investment of $16.4 million.
"Our job, this idea wasn't triggered by solar power, we came into this as a way to bring jobs into Appalachia Ohio. We're connectors.The additions focus on key tag and plastic card combinations, We brought people in to find a solution to a problem," Blumer said. "We pushed really hard for them to come here, but unfortunately, that (part of the state) is where the 'solar corridor' is."
Muskingum County Commissioner Brian Hill agreed.
"That seems to be where the (solar) industry is," he said. "We were hopeful they would give us a shot. And I know we, and the Port Authority, tried to set up a time for them to come down and look at some sites. I think it's disappointing, but it doesn't surprise me."
"We were really needing those manufacturing jobs," said Commissioner Jim Porter regarding Isofoton's plan to create 121 jobs in its first year and ramp up to 330 jobs within three years of operation. "With everything we've lost, it would have been great to have had those."
There also had been the possibility that another company linked to the Turning Point project Prius Energy would be looking for a manufacturing location in Ohio as well. The company makes solar tracking devices that allow solar panels to be maneuvered to follow the sun's transit across the sky.
But it was determined the Prius equipment was not economically feasible to use on the project. Now attention has turned to three other companies to manufacture a fixed tracking system. Blumer said the companies were in Ohio, and it was possible the components could be manufactured in this area, but he did not disclose the company names.which applies to the first glass bottle only,
Or state regulators pull the plug on the idea?
Failure isn't an option, but obstacles could change the scope of the project, officials say.
"It really depends on what the (Public Utilities Commission of Ohio) does. If the PUCO doesn't approve, I would be surprised to see it continue with the same momentum," said Apolka Totth, director of Turning Point Solar LLC and a director with project partner Agile Energy of California.Prior to Aion Kinah I leaned toward the former,
"Right now, it's a go," said Evan Blumer, former director of The Wilds and a partner with New Harvest Venture, a venture capital firm working with Agile Energy on the project. "But the regulatory environment in Ohio is one of the toughest in the nation. So you've got to have everybody saying 'this is the right thing to do.' That's what we have been doing, and we think we're there. But if we can't come up with a least-cost solution, it's not going to happen."
Hurdles
Blumer said the three hurdles in Turning Point's way are the PUCO process, the filing of an environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act and working out interconnection issues with the electric grid.
Blumer said the PUCO approval could take 270 days, but he expects environmental approval from the Rural Utilities Service in the November-December time frame.
The RUS approval is needed to file a formal application for a federal loan to help finance the project.
In the meantime,100 Cable Ties was used to link the lamps together. project backers will be identifying construction contractors. Pending the approvals, the project could break ground sometime in 2012, he said.
Uncertainty
With such a large undertaking and all of the unknowns involved the RUS never has extended a loan involving a public-private partnership before and is just developing rules to determine loan levels depending on the number of rural customers to be served there remains uncertainty.
The state already has seen one company, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Calisolar, back out of a plan to manufacture silicon for solar panels in Richland County earlier this month despite a $275 million loan guarantee from the U.If any food billabong outlet condition is poorer than those standards,S. Department of Energy. And last week, Spanish company Isofoton, which will make the almost 250,000 solar panels for Turning Point, announced it would not be bringing its solar panel manufacturing operations to southeast Ohio.
Instead, Isofoton opted for Napolean in northwest Ohio, with a $15.8 million pledge from the Ohio Department of Development coupled with a company investment of $16.4 million.
"Our job, this idea wasn't triggered by solar power, we came into this as a way to bring jobs into Appalachia Ohio. We're connectors.The additions focus on key tag and plastic card combinations, We brought people in to find a solution to a problem," Blumer said. "We pushed really hard for them to come here, but unfortunately, that (part of the state) is where the 'solar corridor' is."
Muskingum County Commissioner Brian Hill agreed.
"That seems to be where the (solar) industry is," he said. "We were hopeful they would give us a shot. And I know we, and the Port Authority, tried to set up a time for them to come down and look at some sites. I think it's disappointing, but it doesn't surprise me."
"We were really needing those manufacturing jobs," said Commissioner Jim Porter regarding Isofoton's plan to create 121 jobs in its first year and ramp up to 330 jobs within three years of operation. "With everything we've lost, it would have been great to have had those."
There also had been the possibility that another company linked to the Turning Point project Prius Energy would be looking for a manufacturing location in Ohio as well. The company makes solar tracking devices that allow solar panels to be maneuvered to follow the sun's transit across the sky.
But it was determined the Prius equipment was not economically feasible to use on the project. Now attention has turned to three other companies to manufacture a fixed tracking system. Blumer said the companies were in Ohio, and it was possible the components could be manufactured in this area, but he did not disclose the company names.which applies to the first glass bottle only,
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