SANDS TOWNSHIP — The Superior Solar Project, a 1,500-acre solar farm proposed for Sands Township, is up for a vote on Tuesday night by the Sands Township Planning Commission.

Savion LLC, of Kansas City, Missouri, is spearheading the project, which would be located on Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. property southwest of Marquette County Road 480 and M-553.

The solar farm would produce 149.7 megawatts of power, serving the Midcontinent Independent System Operator power grid into the Dead River-Arnold 345 kilovolt line.

The project was first introduced to the public in early October. Since hosting an initial open house at the Sands Township Hall pavilion, Savion officials have spent the last two months gathering public input through virtual forums, petitions and conversations with various community stakeholders. “One of the main things we’ve been doing is soliciting community feedback,” said Courtney Timmons, development director for Savion. “The project has performed quite a bit of work to generate community support including the open house, a virtual community meeting, stakeholder meetings, and we have a project website and Facebook page as well.

“We’ve taken that feedback and incorporated into our layout design. We’ve incorporated feedback from local recreation groups, citizens and businesses to design this project and minimize our impact at the site.”

If the special-use permit required for the project is approved by the Sands Township Planning Commission at Tuesday’s special meeting, the project would break ground within three years.

The project is an estimated capital investment of $100 million to $150 million and would bring between $15 million and $20 million in new property taxes to the local economy over its 30-year lifespan, along with 200 temporary construction jobs and two to four permanent full-time jobs.

Savion is also working to set up a scholarship in relation to the project.

“We’re working together to commit to a scholarship for Gwinn Area Community Schools,” said Timmons, who’s a Gwinn High School and Northern Michigan University alumnus himself. “We’ve cleared all internal approvals to put that into place, and we’re working with the Community Foundation of Marquette County to implement that scholarship.”

The planning commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. in a virtual format, with the public welcome to sit in on the meeting and provide input before the commission casts its vote.

With differing public opinion on the project, there were some concerns expressed on social media in recent weeks regarding the meeting in its virtual setting. Area residents argued the meeting should be postponed until COVID-19 slows down and everyone can gather in the same room. One community member stated “there is so much value in hearing your neighbors’ comments in their own voice, in-person.”

Sands Township Zoning Administrator Randy Yelle responded to those comments by saying they’re doing everything they can to meet legal meeting requirements during the pandemic.

“It’s unfortunate with COVID,” he said. “Savion put the money up, paid for a special meeting and everything else, and we don’t have a right to refuse. We’re doing all we can and we’ve met all the legal requirements for this meeting.”

Yelle and Timmons both want to assure the public that there are several ways to participate and provide input at Tuesday’s meeting, including via phone, internet, email and mail.

“The township has done an excellent job managing this process during COVID-19,” Timmons said. “They’ve taken extra care to ensure they are following the rules of the zoning ordinance and state guidelines and keeping people safe. The township and the staff have been doing a really great job in a challenging situation.”

Timmons said Savion has received much feedback over the last few months.

“As with anything new, there are a lot of concerns and questions,” he said. “We’ve certainly gotten a lot of feedback related to recreational use and private property out there. The property is used by the public because it’s part of the (Commercial Forest Land agreement). The project has received a lot of positive support from the community, and we’ve seen a lot of that support from local individuals as well as public, private and nonprofit organizations. There’s been an overwhelming amount of support from the public.”

Timmons urges people to join in on Tuesday’s meeting if they have an opinion to express.

“We really want to highlight that there’s a meeting happening and how the public can participate,” he said. “These are challenging and unique times, rules around COVID-19 are constantly changing. We want to make sure this info is out to the public. The township is doing an excellent job and balancing a lot of things. We can’t say enough good things about how they’re dealing with this situation.”

To sit in on Tuesday night’s meeting, the public can visit www.SandsTownshipVirtualMeetings.org or call toll-free at 877-229-8493 and use meeting access code 120356 and press pound.

To send questions or comments to the township ahead of time, email zoning@sandstownship.org.

Questions and comments can also be mailed to the Sands Township Hall with attention to the zoning administrator or deposited in the drop box at the hall. The mailing address is 987 S. M-553, Gwinn, MI 49841.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

For more information on Savion, visit www.SavionEnergy.com. For more information on the proposed Superior Solar Project, visit www.SuperiorSolarProject.com or www.Facebook.com/SuperiorSolarProject.

Ryan Spitza can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248. His email address is rspitza@miningjournal.net.