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Cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 73F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..
Cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 73F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Lee County Supervisors made good on a promise they made in April and approved an economic development agreement contract with PV Pallet Inc.
PV Pallet, Inc. is a start-up company that is leasing a portion of the Lee County Economic Development Group’s offices near Montrose. It aims to provide the first reusable, recyclable, collapsible plastic pallets for solar modules and replace the limited and disposable wooden pallets.
To this end, the company applied for money from the Iowa Economic Development Authority Business Development Division’s High Quality Jobs Program to secure funds for its $17 million project and expand operations in Lee County, creating 26 jobs.
LCEDG CEO Dennis Fraise said that to be eligible, the company had to secure a local match of $70,000 from the county in which it is located.
“The contract you have in front of you is the accumulation of the High Quality Jobs Act agreement between PV Pallet and Iowa Economic Development,” Fraise told supervisors at their meeting Monday. “The grant requires a sponsor, which is the county.”
The Iowa Economic Development Authority Board has awarded a $175,000 forgivable loan, a $175,000 conventional loan, and tax benefits through the High-Quality Jobs program to PV Pallet.
The $70,000 loan from the county will include monthly payments for five years at a 3.5% interest rate, and with a 1.5% closing fee.
In addition to the loan, supervisors approved a 5-year sliding scale tax abatement for PVpallets of 75% the first year, 60% the second, 45% the third years, 30% the fourth year, and 15% for fifth year as determined by the county assessor, at a meeting last April.
PV Pallet’s solar shipping solution is to not only replace, but improve upon the status quo of single-use wood pallets. The pallets are made of post-consumer HDPE Type 2 plastics and can be reused at least 20 times.
The pallets are designed to be returned at a 5:1 ratio for reuse. For every 5 truckloads of solar panels sent to a project site, only one truck needs to return with empty pallets. Once a PV Pallet completes its lifespan, it is returned to the manufacturing plant, sent through plastic grinders, and placed back into the injection mold hopper to be made into a new PV Pallet.
In April, PV Pallets CEO Philip Schwarz said the pallets can be stacked four deep as opposed to wooden pallets that are stacked two deep. He said the wooden pallets are usually discarded in U.S. landfills, creating an estimated 60 million pounds of wood waste a year.
He said when being used, the pallets can be folded up and stored away.
Supervisor Chuck Holmes did ask about a clause in the contract that states that if the company were to default the county would be responsible for the payments.
“What is the likelihood of this happening?” Holmes asked.
“This is always a possibility of that, but I would say we’ve vetted this company. We have a good contract as far as corporate guarantees with them,” Fraise replied.
Supervisor Ron Fedler said he sees the arrangement as “a really good deal” and that the company is serving the solar industry which is expanding.
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Cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 73F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 73F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Sunny, along with a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
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