NAHUNTA — Concerns of hazardous materials, decommissioning and a 20year tax abatement were discussed during a called meeting Tuesday in the County Commissioners building.
The commission held two public hearings March 4 for discussion of amending the Land Use Ordinance to add Solar Farm as a Special Exception and to discuss Agricultural Special Exception for a Solar Farm.
BrightNight is a startup (2019) solar panel company with 210 employees wanting to do business in Brantley County on approximately 2,500 acres between Hortense and Browntown on the north side of Hwy. 32 bordering the county line dividing Brantley County and Wayne County. The company already has committments for Wayne County and Long County.
According to its web page, BrightNight is the first renewable integrated power company designed to provide utility and commercial and industrial customers with clean, dispatchable renewable power solutions.
The company was founded by Martin Herman. It has many investors including Goldman Sachs, which made a $440 million investment August 1, 2024.
Fifteen minutes was alloted for each agenda item with the County Commission work session to begin a 6 p.m. The called meetings ran until 7:11 p.m.
Officials with BrightNight talked of project benefits and the economic boom to county coffers. The initial good news was 300-400 construction jobs to get the job up and running over the first 18-24 months. From there would be five to seven long-term, high-quality operation jobs.
“We view this as a partnership with the community,” said Vice President of Development Greg Vander Kamp. “We work directly with the community to provide impactful contributions. We don’t want to be a fly by night company.”
The solar farm will generate, according to BrightNight, $16,700,00 in property taxes over 20 years with Brantley County expected to see $835,000 per year — a 108-fold increase over the current taxes on the timberland.
When questioned about hazardous materials, Development Manager Francesca Metcalf said, “It’s all solid materials that can’t melt or leach out of the of the panel itself. It’s common household items of aluminum, glass, plastic, silicon ... very, very common non-hazardous materials. Nothing will get into the ground water.”
BrightNight shared its disposal and decommissioning plan.
“We will decommission the project at the end of the project’s life cycle, which is typically 30 different sites,” said Kamp.
Panels will be taken to a solar panels disposal facility, According to the officials, there are certain landfills which will take the panels and some that won’t take them.
There is one in Tennessee, relatively an upstart itself, that’s geared towards recycling panels.
“Bright Night is obligated to remove the panels at the end of their life,” Kamp said. “We have to post a $10 million bond that is renewed every five years. The bond will sit with the landowners (Rayonier).
“It is there for the landowners to call upon and remove all those facilities at the end of their useful way. It protects the landowners, it protects the county, and acts as a backstop in case, again, heaven forbid, BrightNight goes out of business.”
Concerned citizen Robert Wilson asked about keeping the vegetation maintained.
“I’ve heard you may use sheep,” said Wilson, “but we’re talking 13.28 square miles all together ... that’s a lot. What I see is probably Roundup.”
Kamp said discussion on the tax abatement until commissioners pass the Special Exception to the Land Use Ordinance.
“Considering this abatement is kicking our butt,” said Commissioner Randy Davison.
