Callaway County officials stated Wednesday they have not entered into any contracts with the solar power company interested in building a farm around New Bloomfield.
Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann said the company, NextEra Energy Resources, has sent the county three contracts, but the county has not signed them and doesn't intend to any time soon.
He said NextEra's lawyer has been in contact with the county's attorney, but they are not actively negotiating.
NextEra Energy Resources has expressed interest in a solar power project that would span approximately 600 acres in Callaway County, mostly focused around the New Bloomfield area.
In general, NextEra is looking to lease land from property owners -- mostly farmers -- to install solar panels. The panels would generate electricity to be sold to power suppliers in the area. It would generate an estimated 100 megawatts of energy.
The project could start as early as 2024.
The New Bloomfield Concerned Citizens Against Guthrie Solar group organized an open forum Wednesday with all three county commissioners, representatives from the city of New Bloomfield, the New Bloomfield Fire Protection District and the county assessor to help answer residents' questions about the potential project.
While many questions don't have answers at this point, officials shared what information they have on the project.
Jungermann said the county is learning as it goes and he's had to learn more about solar panels than he ever expected to.
The three contracts NextEra has proposed to the county include a payment in lieu of taxes (PILT), a dismantlement fund and a road repair agreement.
Jungermann said the payment in lieu of taxes contract would have NextEra pay the county $2,000 per megawatt annually, which would amount to around $200,000.
In talking with other counties around the state, he said, that rate seems to be what most solar companies are offering and other counties have agreed.
How those funds would be used exactly, he said, isn't decided, but would likely be similar to the tax levy rates in New Bloomfield with the school district receiving the majority of the funding.
Jungermann said he wants to ensure if the project goes through, NextEra gives back to the community.
"I think we're being pretty slow about what we're doing because we want them to understand they've got to work with this community and try to figure things out," Jungermann said. "Ultimately, I hope they move out of this community because I don't like really the closeness to the city."
Missouri exempts solar power systems from property taxes, which means NextEra would not have to pay those taxes for the project. That's where the potential PILT comes in.
The city also has not entered into any contract with NextEra or approved any zoning changes in connection to the project.
City Attorney Nathan Nickolaus said NextEra has not reached out to the city.
"We kind of found out about this when our citizens began to find out about it," he said. "We have not been approached about entering into a PILT ... so there's no terms of that agreement. We've no contact with these people, which is kind of surprising when you think that we are the local government. We're kind of in the center of this and we represent a lot of these people."