Mulligan Solar Farm asks for extended hours for select activities

 

[November 06, 2021] 

At the Logan County Board’s Planning and Zoning Committee meeting Wednesday, November 3, one focus of discussion was extended hours for the Mulligan Solar Farm project.

Planning and Zoning Committee members present were committee Chairman David Hepler, David Blankenship and Keenan Leesman. Also present was Logan County Zoning Officer Will D’Andrea.

Guests representing Mulligan Solar were Attorney Kyle Barry and site supervisor James Richards.

For the Mulligan Solar Farm project, Barry said one of the conditions was only doing construction activities during daytime hours. That is a common condition the board has imposed on other major construction projects in the county. Barry said it is not something the project objects to.

Due to supply chain issues and unanticipated activities, Mulligan Solar is seeking relief from the daytime restrictions. Barry said these extended hours are not necessarily needed for construction activities.

Some testing will need to be done during extended hours after dark. Barry said they will need to test transformers, the control system, underground cables, inverters and the weather station.

In addition, once the transformer is installed at the substation, they need to fill it with oil. Barry said there is a filtering process that will continuously pump oil into the transformer over a 72-hour period.

The continuous pour will be done about 1,000 feet west of the existing Fogarty Switchyard. Barry said that is where the new substation is going in. It is right along the frontage road near the switchyard and not far the interstate. The nearest home is about one quarter mile away.

Safety and security lights will be going in at that facility once the project is operational. Barry said for those activities, the lights will likely not bother anybody.

Project Site Manager James Richards said they would probably start doing testing in mid-December. The schedule has been delayed due to the supply chain issues. Since they would be using laptops and flashlights, there would not be any loud noises emitted during testing.

The only operation longer than 24 hours is filtering the oil from the main power transformer. Richard said the oil is going into a vacuum and must be heated to a certain temperature. That gets all the moisture out.

For the continuous pour of the oil, Barry said they would use an electric pump, which is not loud. The continuous pour will be done at the substation location.

D’Andrea asked about the oil they would be pumping. He wanted to know if they were withdrawing the oil.

If it is mineral oil, Blankenship said low horsepower is used to pump it. There would not be any noise at all. The oil stays in the transformer.

Barry said they would like to have the flexibility to do these activities during nighttime hours through March.

Because of possible supply chain issues, Blankenship feels they will be lucky to get the transformer by March. Since they may need a longer time frame, Blankenship suggested the board approve the extended hours past March.
 

To avoid having to come back and ask for an extension, Barry had told Richard to set an endpoint.

Hepler said he appreciates getting the request in November for something that would need to be done in December. He has seen some requests come in at the eleventh hour. It is nice to see the industry maturing to where they can anticipate what is needed. Hepler said he does not feel the board needs to set an endpoint for the flexibility on hours.

After the transformer is received, Leesman said Mulligan Solar should be given six months of extended hours.

When the transformer is received, Richards will notify D’Andrea.

Asking if they are having trouble getting cables and other supplies, Blankenship said he could foresee many different supply chain issues.

Due to some of the supply chain issues, Richards said he has had trouble getting conduits.

If there are any changes before the regular board meeting Tuesday, November 23, Hepler said he would like to know.

The committee approved bringing forward a motion for extended hours at the board workshop Thursday, November 18.

[Angela Reiners]