Stillwater County will soon be the site of two more renewable energy farms.
County officials confirmed Puget Sound Energy and NextEra Energy are both building solar farms covering thousands of acres.
Watch Stillwater County solar projects here:
Puget Sound Energy plans to build its Battle Butte Solar project at the intersection of Battle Butte Road and Highway 306 or Rapelje Road.
It will sit on 1,200 acres of Puget Sound's 8,000 acre property south of Rapelje.
“All the paperwork has been finalized,” said Stillwater County Commissioner Roger Webb. “All the contracts have been signed, and they hope to break ground early September. ”
All the electricity produced will go to Puget Sound customers in the state of Washington, which has a requirement for renewable power.
Webb says this is a big investment for a big business in Stillwater County.
“If anything, it's going to create a tax base for our communities,” Webb said.
NextEra Energy based in Florida also has planned a 1,200-acre project, called the Four Sisters Solar and Battery, west of Highway 306 and west of the Puget Sound project.
“I expect this to be permitted by the end of the year,” Webb said.
Puget Sound is operating the Beaver Creek Wind Farm and Pattern Energy has Stillwater Wind in the western part of the county.
And back in Sweet Grass County, Webb is aware of the apparent disarray of the River Bend Solar Farm.
The company that owns that solar farm says the equipment that moves the panels has not held up during the winter.
Webb says that will not be a problem with the two companies' projects near Rapelje.
“I have all the confidence in the world in them,” Webb said about Puget Sound and NextEra. “They do it right. ”
Webb is excited to see the new revenue streams coming into Stillwater County.
