MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon City Schools doesn’t have a say in whether solar panel farms come to the school district.
That message became clear Wednesday night at Mount Vernon City School’s July board meeting.
The solar panel farm, Superintendent Bill Seder discussed, was the proposed 1,533-acre Fraser Solar project in Miller and Clinton Townships.
Seder noted the project will financially affect the district one way or another. The majority of the solar panel discussion focused on the Payment in Lieu of Taxes plan (PILOT) proposed by Open Road Renewables, Frasier Solar’s parent company, which the county commissioners can approve or deny.
“We may have our own personal opinions, but even if we did, we don’t get to make that choice. The Knox County Commissioners, however, do have a choice, not whether we have ’em or not, but whether they would approve or deny the PILOT application or the tax exemption piece,” Seder said.
The commissioners have until Aug. 14 to make the decision.
The Ohio Power Sitting Board won’t make a decision on the project until August 2024, Seder said.
How the PILOT program works
Under a PILOT, Open Road pays no real estate or personal property taxes for the 40-year life of the project. Read also : Home Solar + Battery + Electrification: Payback Under 10 Years. Instead, the company will pay up to $9,000 per megawatt annually to the county’s various taxing jurisdictions.
Ohio law requires a solar energy developer to pay $7,000 per MW to the taxing jurisdictions. The money is distributed based on millage. The county commissioners can require the developer to pay another $2,000 per MW.
Frasier Solar impact on schools need based funding.JPG
That money goes to the county’s general fund.
Fraser Solar is a 120 MW project divided into two phases: 80 MW initially and 40 MW. The projected Knox County revenue over 40 years under a PILOT is $42.84 million ($1.08 million annually). Nearly half, 45.2%, goes to the Mount Vernon City School District, with another 8% going to the Knox County Career Center. The county general fund gets 26.5%.
In the PILOT program’s 40-year estimated total, Mount Vernon City Schools are expected to receive $19,368,090. Seder said if the commissioners would deny the PILOT application, Fraser would be responsible for the property taxes under the current statutory assessment, which would increase said property taxes.
“When the property values increase in our county, the state thinks we’re wealthier and they’ll give us less state funding,” Seder said. “We don’t get any more money, but they think we’re wealthier, and they will give us less money.”
MVCS looses money if PILOT isn’t accepted, study shows
A study by the education think tank Fleeter & Associates found Mount Vernon City Schools would lose $8. See the article : Texas looks to giant batteries to keep power grid on as heat dome … – The Washington Post.138 million if the PILOT program wasn’t accepted, Seder said.
“So in other words, if we accept the PILOT project under Ohio Revised Code – the property values – the increase that might have there will not affect us at the state level when it comes to funding for schools,” Seder said. “And that’s a big deal.”
Mount Vernon City School board members and superintendent Bill Seder review the potential impact Frasier Solar Panel project would have on the school district. Credit–Mount Vernon City Schools YouTube channel
Seder showcased a graph where if the PILOT program wasn’t accepted the district would receive a sharp spike in funding though it would steadily decrease over the 40-year timeframe set by said program.
The PILOT would give the district a steady stream of funding throughout the 40-year span.
Mount Vernon City Schools Board Member Jody Goetzman asked Seder what happens if the solar project goes “belly up.” Would the district be affected?
“They should be contractually obligated to pay us out. Now, obviously in a bankrupt world, I don’t know,” Seder said. “Another tough part is, and this has been brought to my attention too, and again, I don’t know that I lose a ton of sleep over which way this goes, but I only know what I know today and what I know today is, first of all, I don’t have to make a choice on a solar or a no solar or somebody else’s choice.
“But if there is solar to come here, what I know today is the PILOT project looks better for the district than the other.”
Another unknown factor is how the state funding formula for public education will change throughout the short and long term, thus focusing the decision on solar in the present, Seder added.