$300M project may miss county
Solar Grade Silicon LLC considers future expansion outside of Moses Lake
MOSES LAKE — Solar Grade Silicon LLC is considering an estimated $300 million expansion to its Grant County plant in Moses Lake. But it is also looking at spending those expansion dollars in five other Northwest locations, including the existing Butte, Mont. plant.
SGS was established in September 2002 as a joint venture between Advanced Silicon Materials LLC and Renewable Energy Corporation AS. SGS sells pure silicon material that is eventually converted into solar panels.
SGS is currently the top industrial user of electricity in the Grant County Public Utility District at 45 to 50 megawatts. With the future expansion, they would approximately double their power load to between 90 and 100 megawatts, according to Tor Hartmann, president and project manager for SGS.
The need to obtain both a contract that guarantees long-term supply and the assurance of electricity rates that are stable and reasonable are among the most important site qualification considerations, Hartmann said.
Power is one of the most important issues because it is one of the more substantial costs to the company's production. Current industrial power rates sunset on Oct. 31. At that time, new power sales contracts will need to be established.
"We would like the PUD to be more definitive with rate structure and contracting policies," Hartmann said. "Right now we're not sure what length of contract is going to be available."
Starting on Nov. 1, additional power will be available in the district as new power sales contracts take effect and the PUD will no longer be receiving energy from the Bonneville Power Administration.
Currently, the district receives about half of its power from the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project and half from the BPA with BPA power costing about three times what it costs the district to produce its own power.
With the new contracts, which replace the original 50-year sales contracts negotiated when Priest Rapids and Wanapum Dams were constructed, the district will be able to meet almost all of the county's power needs from the two dams.
"With power available from the PUD's Priest Rapids Hydroelectric project now available to meet new load growth in the county, it can be done in a way that benefits the PUD itself as well as creating more jobs, a larger tax base and other benefits to the county in general," said Larry D. Peterson, a Port of Moses Lake commissioner and Grant County Economic Development Council board member.
SGS will also consider available labor and existing infrastructure among other factors before deciding where to invest their future expansion dollars.
Hartmann said SGS is relying on the Grant County Economic Development Council to bring everyone involved in the process together to facilitate a discussion so that the company can reach a decision before the end of September.
"When a company makes a major commitment like that, they want to know what they are committing to," said Terry Brewer, the GCEDC executive director. "It's important to make sure expansion stays in the community."
The PUD has a rates meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. on Thursday in which interested parties from industrial, agricultural and business will be able to discuss power rate schedules and policy that will impact economic growth when the new power sales contracts begin on Nov. 1 with the PUD board of commissioners and staff.
A Moses Lake Response Team meeting will also be held Thursday at 7 a.m. as part of a larger countywide effort to make sure that the SGS expansion will stay in the community. The MLRT is made up of members of the GCEDC, Port of Moses Lake, local city and county elected officials and representatives from local businesses.