Solar Alliance plans to develop Curwood property in Murphysboro

The Solar Alliance CEO and chief marketing officer told the Murphysboro City Council they intend to move forward with developing the Curwood building and property.

The 160,000-square-foot building sits on 14 acres on North 19th Street, right in the middle of town. Mayor Will Stephens has made selling the property a priority, he said, even filming an ad in 2015 and posting it on YouTube.

"We're moving forward with our plans to develop the site," CEO Jason Bak said. "Because of the state's emerging interest in solar power, and given the state's incentives, we believe that the Curwood site is the right place for Solar Alliance."

Since its inception in 2003, Solar Alliance has developed more than 360 megawatts of renewable energy projects and subsequently sold them to utilities or large independent power producers, and has installed more than 10,000 residential solar systems in southern California, according to the company's website.

"Solar Alliance has more than a billion dollars worth of solar projects in the states and in Canada," Bak said.

Bak and Chief Marketing Officer Myke Clark spent some time listing some of the company's largest projects and some of their smaller ones.

"The cost of solar energy has fallen exponentially because of improvements in the industry," Bak said. "Solar really started making huge gains in the market in 2012. From the sun to the roof to the home, solar energy just makes economic sense."

Both men called the Curwood proposal "exciting," but added that nothing is set in stone until the property is transferred to Solar Alliance.

This deal has been in the works for a while. The plan is for the current owner of the property, Bemis Corporation of Wisconsin, to sell it to the city for $1; then the city would transfer it to Solar Alliance of Vancouver.

"We're waiting on the city attorney and the attorney with Bemis to come to an agreement on a little bit of language," Mayor Stephens said. "If we're ready to strike a deal, we would host a special meeting of the council."

The plant was built in 1979 and manufactured labels for various containers until it closed in 2005. The property is located within the Murphysboro Enterprise Zone, giving the new owners a 10-year tax abatement and "no sales tax charged on equipment."

Solar Alliance has completed a detailed site design, and the city has completed a structural assessment of the building.

"We were on site today, accidentally setting off the alarm and meeting the police chief," Clark said.

Solar Alliance plans to develop the site in stages and get tenants in the building as soon as possible - preferably tenants whose businesses use a lot of power. One of those businesses is a cryptocurrency business.

Solar Alliance is also interested in developing a solar array around the wastewater treatment plant, Stephens said. Bak called it "phase two" of the project.

"Building solar there would be simple," Clark said.