DES MOINES, Iowa—The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) today issued an order granting a request for waivers and a certificate of public convenience, use and necessity to Grand Junction Solar, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Grid Renewables Development, LLC, for a solar electric generating facility and battery energy storage system (BESS) project to be located in Greene County, Iowa.
Grand Junction Solar filed its application on July 29, 2022, in Docket No. GCU-2022-0001 for a proposed solar generating facility totaling up to 100 megawatts (MW) and an associated 50 MW BESS project. The proposed project area consists of approximately 1,103 acres approximately five miles east of Jefferson and 0.5 miles south of Grand Junction.
Grand Junction Solar anticipates the vast majority of the land will house the solar arrays and associated electric generating equipment, with approximately four acres designated for the BESS project, two acres designated for the project substation, and just under one quarter acre designated for the proposed operations and maintenance building. The solar project will connect to inverters, which will connect to a collector substation. The BESS project will also connect to the collector substation. The solar project substation will be interconnected to the electric grid via a generation-tie line extending to the Karma substation.
Today’s order requires Grand Junction to file an amendment to its certificate with the IUB if it chooses to increase the total generating capacity or add to the storage facility in the future. Additionally, a request to transfer the facility to another entity would require IUB approval in accordance with Iowa Code 476A.7(2).
The order also grants Grand Junction Solar’s January 26, 2023, request to waive a public evidentiary hearing and associated procedural requirements under Iowa law. The order acknowledges that all landowners approved and consented to the use of their land for the proposed project through voluntary easement agreements.
Under Iowa Code chapter 476A, the IUB will issue the certificate with conditions that include filing final design plans with the IUB and showing it has obtained all city and county permits. Grand Junction Solar also must file a status report on progress toward completion of construction every 180 days, and if construction is not completed within two years of the date the permit is issued, the company must file a new application.
Documents regarding Grand Junction’s solar facility and BESS project are available for review in the IUB’s electronic filing system under Docket No. GCU-2022-0001.
(contributed press release, IUB)
