Community Benefits
Creating Opportunities
Groveland Mine Solar is a major economic development opportunity for communities that will create construction jobs and generate millions of dollars in tax revenue for local governments and schools. Circle Power worked with Dickison County stakeholders to put together a benefits package unique to this community.
Impact Analysis
Groveland Giving Impact Thermometer with Giving Total to date:
$170,000
Property Taxes
$12.7 Million in Guaranteed Local Property Taxes
Taxing entities that will benefit from Groveland Mine Solar include: Felch, Norway, and Sagola Townships, Dickinson County, Dickinson-Iron ISD, North Dickinson Schools, and Norway-Vulcan Area Schools
Property Tax Guarantee
Circle Power believes communities should directly benefit from projects like Groveland Mine Solar, which is why we’ve created the Property Tax Guarantee. Legally binding agreements with Felch, Norway, and Sagola Townships establish a minimum floor for tax payments that Groveland Mine Solar will make to local taxing entities over a 30-year period. The guarantee ensures reliable, predictable revenue streams for local officials so they can make smart investments in equipment and infrastructure while saving for future needs.
Labor and Endorsements
Proud Partners of the U.P. Building Trades Council: Groveland Mine Solar has signed a letter of intent with the Upper Peninsula Building Trades Council to guarantee that the project will be constructed with union labor:
"We understand that the Council supports the Project, and that the Project will be constructed under the terms of a Project Labor Agreement negotiated with the Council... the Project will provide good, safe and efficient jobs."
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"For more than 100 years, Operating Engineers 324 (OE 324) has worked to keep Michigan running. Our over 14,000 members – Heavy Equipment Operators and Technicians - build the highways, bridges, factories, and utilities across this great state from Marquette to Monroe..."
"The Groveland Mine Solar project is a great opportunity – for the townships, for the Upper Peninsula, and for the skilled working people of the region."
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"LIUNA Local 1329, which represents over 800 members across the Upper Peninsula, is a strong advocate for projects that strengthen communities by creating family-supporting union jobs. Working with LIUNA, members have opportunities for advancement and a ladder to the middle class."
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"We write to express our support of the Groveland Mine Solar project. The Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters & Millwrights represents 13,000, including five-hundred members in the Upper Peninsula and more than 50 that are Dickinson County residents... We find that our members, and residents of this region, want environmental protection and economic development as well as affordable electricity."
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"The proposed solar farm will turn an abandoned industrial site to a clean energy producing site. The farm is a big investment in the region that will create well-paying construction jobs... IBEW 906 represents 350 members across the UP of which 160 workers live in Iron and Dickinson Counties."
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"Groveland Mine Solar has entered into an agreement with the U.P. Building Trades Council to guarantee that the project will be constructed with skilled union labor and provide good, safe and efficient jobs."
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"If fully constructed, Groveland Mine Solar will cost in excess of $100 million to build. It is a major investment in the region that will create construction jobs and boost revenues to local taxing entities... We look forward to working on Groveland Mine Solar."
Grants and Scholarships
Circle Power Renewables is proud to partner with the Dickinson Area Community Foundation to fund recreation grants and scholarships totaling $150,000. The gifts include a scholarship endowment for area graduates as well as one-time recreation grant opportunities for area sportsmen and for Felch, Norway, and Sagola Townships.
Renewable Ready Community Award
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) awarded $500,000 to Felch, Norway, and Sagola Townships for permitting and hosting Groveland Mine Solar. Fifty percent of the of the award is disbursed when the project begins construction, and 50% is disbursed when the project is operational. Local governments must use the funding to expand or create a service or program or invest in an infrastructure project.