The Pulaski County Council members approved a resolution this month that would include four separate funds in the county’s budget for the receipt of any economic development payments from solar projects in the county.
The Pulaski County Commissioners previously approved a contract with VS Engineering to be an oversight of the solar companies. The goal was to have an experienced company oversee compliance of Economic Development Agreements, Road Use Agreements, drainage agreements, and work with department heads and the public concerning construction on four upcoming solar projects in Pulaski County. Those large projects include the Mammoth project by Doral Renewables, the Moss Creek project by NextEra, Bottlebrush project by Invenergy, and the May Apple project by Lightsource bp.
The company will ensure that the solar companies and the county are saying what they will be doing when the projects commence. They will be listening to public concerns and taking those concerns to necessary committees for solutions.
The resolution that the Pulaski County Council approved creates funds that collect funding from the solar companies to pay for the VS Engineering work. No county funding will be used to pay for the compliance monitoring contract. The solar companies have all signed agreements that they will be paying the contract for VS Engineering to conduct the compliance reports. VS Engineering will be providing monthly reports to the commissioners once those projects get started, presumably in early 2025 and in 2026.
