02. Harmony Solar update and letter of support

Memo To: Cass County Board of County Commissioners From: Jay Hesse on behalf of Harmony Solar ND, LLC Date: 06/20/2024 Re: Harmony Solar ND, LLC – Seeking Support for Certification Continuing Sustainability 2024 I am reaching out on behalf of Harmony Solar, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Grid Renewables Development, LLC, formerly known as Geronimo. The purpose of my outreach is to provide an update on the proposed Project and seek a refreshed letter of support from Cass County for Harmony’s 2024 certification with the state. We would like the letter to be addressed to the ND PSC, however our preference is to include letters of support in an appendix of our application instead of Cass County sending directly to the state. That way the PSC has all documents in one application package from Harmony Solar. Harmony previously submitted an Application for a Certificate of Site Compatibility (“CSC”) to the North Dakota Public Service Commission (“PSC”) for a 200 megawatt solar energy conversion facility (the Project). CSC No. 58 was issued to Harmony for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the solar facility on February 26, 2019 (PSC Case No. PU-18 219). Harmony plans to seek a Certification Continuing Suitability from the PSC in 2024. The Project area has not changed since Cass County’s review in 2017. Please find attached the letter of support dated November 6, 2017. The projects economic benefits are very similar, but the capital investment estimate has gone up to around $320 million. The tax revenue policy has not changed and is still calculated by project capacity and energy generation, so we still expect the project to pay around $500k per year to the Central Cass and Mapleton School Districts, Cass County, Harmony Township, and the State of ND. We are planning to start construction as early as mid-2025 but could also start in 2026. Our goal is to have the project in operation by Q4 2027. Project facilities will include photovoltaic solar modules (panels) and racking, inverters, security fencing, laydown areas, a substation, an operations and maintenance facility, one-site underground electrical collection lines, at least two weather stations (up to 20 feet tall), access roads as required, and associated facilities. Harmony will interconnect to the Xcel Energy Bison Substation located in Section 11 of Township 140 N, Range 51 W via a 345 kV transmission line. The transmission line route will be under one mile in length and therefore will not be reviewed by the PSC. A project location map is attached.