Lee County staff preparing resolution to allow letter of credit instead of cash escrow for Maple Road Solar decommissioning

County staff said they will draft a resolution for the county board that would let Maple Road Solar post a letter of credit as an alternative to the cash escrow currently required under the project's special-use permit.

Alice (staff member) told the Lee County Board Executive Committee that the ordinance under which the Maple Road Solar special-use permit was approved requires a cash escrow for decommissioning but that the county board can authorize an alternative form of financial surety. "They are seeking to post a letter of credit as opposed to the escrow," Alice said, and she added she will prepare a resolution for the full board.

Alice said the proposed resolution would require the letter of credit to be posted before issuance of a building permit and asked that the county assess a nominal administration fee for handling the letter of credit. She noted the county charges $55 per megawatt on other energy projects to administer similar agreements and suggested a comparable fee scaled to the smaller Maple Road Solar project.

Jack Scruggshead (county services committee) had introduced the topic in committee and said the matter was forwarded for board consideration. Committee members asked whether the proposed letter-of-credit approach would follow the same parameters used previously for wind projects; Alice said the process is similar though the solar ordinance spells out allowable alternatives more precisely. Alice also cited Shady Oaks 2 as a recent example where the county entered a resolution allowing alternative financial surety.

The draft resolution will be forwarded to the county board for a final vote; no board action was taken at the executive meeting.

The item will appear on the county board agenda in the coming weeks for formal consideration and possible adoption.