Full Cost of Decommissioning Must be Guaranteed

• The County Planning Commission mandated a cash escrow in the amount of $36 million to ensure that whenever the sites (if approved at all) are to be decommissioned, that adequate funds will be available to do so. The Commissions mandate was based in large measure on the studies of real costs by Concerned Citizens.

• sPower’s initial estimate for the decommissioning bond was a mere $1.2 million. They recently increased it to $5.4 million, and later $11 million, still assuming generous credits for the value of recycled materials.

• sPower is establishing Pleinmont Solar, LLC and four other LLCs for the construction and operation of this facility. Costs for decommissioning and removing all of the equipment, and remediating any contamination must be guaranteed not only from the subsidiary LLCs, but also sPower corporation, the actual operator of the facility.

• If the site is abandoned, then the County and State -- and we the taxpayers -- will have a large toxic waste site to clean up. Without an adequate bond, we also will not have the money for the cleanup.

• Further, the restoration of the site to its original condition is likely not even achievable, or at the least will take decades to recover after the decommissioning of the power plant.

Concerned Citizens therefore has recommended specific conditions be included in the Spotsylvania County Special Use Permit to alleviate these concerns, or at least mitigate any potential impact. Those recommended conditions can be found here:

Special Use Permit Conditions

"DO NO HARM"