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Keith Olson was in charge of both our Pledge of Allegiance and the invocation, offering thanks to the Almighty for our good fortune, particularly returning his son-in-law Christopher from Kuwait safely. We welcomed Lisa McFarland as our guest at what hopefully will be our last all-virtual meeting. After discussing and deciding to return to in-person meetings this week, we launched into Brags and Fines. Jamie Larson was thankful for a new puppy. Keith Olson acknowledged his son-in-law and former Club member Dan Johnson's birthday; Dan and his wife and three children are down in Arizona visiting Keith and Kim; Keith seemed to be enjoying being home all alone attending our meeting while everyone else was out and about. Kathy Austvold reported she enjoyed her time in Florida, including a golf outing at Top Golf where she finished third out of six people in their group in scoring. Pete Wasberg introduced Randy Synstelien, Otter Tail Power's Manager of Renewable Development, and Rebecca Micael, who has been with the company six years. Randy talked about the Hoot Lake Solar Project, which is Otter Tail's first venture into a utility solar scale project. It will be a 49-megawatt facility, or provide enough electricity for about 10,000 homes. One of the big benefits of solar is the low cost associated with it once installed and because they are reusing the interconnection system already in existence at Hoot Lake, there is less cost in that regard as well. The site will contain 450 acres, with about 350 acres involved in the actual production of electricity (avoiding low areas and wetlands). The panels will be at least 150 feet from any neighboring homes and the open space on the site will have pollinator friendly plantings, shorter plants inside the fenced area. The fencing will be a seven-foot-high deer fence, with non-barbed wire angling out at the top (intended to keep big critters out). The panel design Otter Tail Power has chosen is fixed tilt, with no motion to it; with fixed tilt the panels will facing south with the rows running east and west (with a tracking system, whether single or dual axis, the rows run north and south and follow the sun). They are aiming for a two-foot clearance between the ground and the bottom of the panels. The rows will be about 30 feet apart and have a 30-degree tilt. (The further south you go the less tilt is needed.). This past fall, tree clearing was completed and they are anticipating getting all tracking down before freeze-up next October and November. The system should be operational in mid-2023 and at its peak there will be 100-150 workers on site. Currently in the system Otter Tail has over 50 customers that are running a small metered solar system, most of which were installed in the last two years. Randy compared the 450-acre size of the 50-MG solar farm to the 150-MW wind farm Otter Tail now has running, which covers 17,000 acres. Wind farms require FAA approval and are more suited for remote locations than populated areas. To learn more about the solar project, you can visit otpco.com/HootLakeSolar. Rebecaa Michael spoke about the dismantling of the coal plant. Asbestos abatement was initiated last summer and just last month they started some demolition. The hydro and training facilities are staying. At the peak of demolition, they expect 10-15 trucks hauling things out on a daily basis. The plan is to finish deconstruction by this coming November. You can take a full 360-degree virtual tour of the site at otpco.com/HootLakePlant, which includes a five-minute documentary on the plant. The ash work was completed before the plant was closed. |
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