Northern Virginia Daily

April 7, 2010

Town still unsure of role with solar site

Standard Energy planning to seek money from state

By Ben Orcutt

FRONT ROYAL -- As plans for a proposed solar energy farm continue to evolve, the town remains unsure what role it may play in the project, if any.

On Tuesday, members of the Town Council reacted to a letter they received from Steve Lamb, a managing member of Standard Energy, the company that is proposing to build the solar farm at Royal Phoenix, formerly the Avtex Fibers Superfund site.

"I think with all the changes that have happened I can't agree to anything at this time," Councilman Chris W. Holloway said. "If they want to build a solar farm, I don't have a problem with it. There's too many issues at this time to make a decision."

Lamb says in his April 5 letter, which was read to the council on Monday during a work session, that Standard Energy is not seeking funding from the town, but has requested state funding.

"The only obligation from Front Royal is to purchase the solar power through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) as they would do normally as an [American Municipal Power] member buying power, similar to the latest hydropower purchase," Lamb says.

On March 26, the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority voted to approve a three-year contract to allow Standard Energy to build a 40-acre solar farm at the Avtex site, contingent on it being approved by FMC Corp., the former site owner, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is overseeing cleanup operations.

The contract stipulates that within 180 days after its effective date, Standard Energy must have at least 100 permanent, full-time employees and that the company's assembly plant must be located within town limits.

Asked Tuesday if Standard Energy would agree to the stipulation on the number of full-time employees, Lamb said his company is not at that stage of the lease negotiation process yet.

In October, Lamb, the majority shareholder of Standard Solar in Gaithersburg, Md., announced that his company would merge with a local company that had previously announced plans to build a 27-acre solar farm at Royal Phoenix.

Prior plans called for Greg Horton, owner of Arctic Air Refrigeration in Front Royal, and Leesburg developer William Lauterbach to partner on the project under the name SolAVerde.

"There's a different horse in the race now," Councilman Carson C. Lauder said. "I think the whole thing hinges on financing and it looks like to me like Standard Energy is seeking some financing from the state of Virginia. Suppose that doesn't come through? Who do they turn to then? After the dust settles and someone is buying their power, whoever, it still remains to be seen what the true costs will be and only after we determine the true costs will we be able to do business with anyone who offers us solar power."

Councilman Thomas E. Conkey spoke in a similar vein.

"This thing started off as an idea, but it's like any other proposal, it starts with an idea and the idea evolves and then it becomes a formal business arrangement," Conkey said. "We're somewhere between the idea and the formal business arrangement. The bottom line is, we're going to do what's best for the town and that may mean some sort of solar and it may not. We don't know at this point."

Councilman N. Shae Parker echoed sentiments previously expressed by Vice Mayor Bret W. Hrbek, that the key is the jobs that Standard Energy may bring to the town.

Other than that, it's still too early, Parker said, for the town to decide what role it will play, including the possibility of purchasing solar power from Standard Energy.

"I think at this stage of the game there are still more questions than answers," Parker said.

Councilman Thomas H. Sayre agreed that jobs are a key component of the project, but added that he has concerns about how the process has been handled.

"Unfortunately, there's been a lack of transparency in our local government," Sayre said.