A utility that serves about 145,000 customers in Indiana wants approval to significantly reduce financial credits given to people who send excess solar-generated electricity into the power grid.
Utah-based Extra Space Storage, the nation’s second-largest self-storage operator, plans to add the solar panels to five Indianapolis sites this year, and additional sites after that.
The Lake County Council voted 6-1 to support a zoning change that would allow construction of the estimated $200 million project in a rural area, about 20 miles south of Gary.
Emergent Solar Energy opened in 2014 in the Purdue Research Park with the goal of helping local governments, schools, manufacturers and other companies make the switch to renewable energy. But it didn’t take long for agriculture to emerge as a key sector.
The legislation to slow down the exodus from coal comes as large utilities across Indiana have announced plans to shut down thousands of megawatts of coal-fire generating capacity in favor of cheaper fuel sources, such as natural gas, solar and wind.
The Indiana Municipal Power Agency said it now has 21 solar farms generating electricity around the state and is building more at it aims to have half of its power coming from renewable sources by 2030.
Officials in Madison County have rejected a tax abatement for a proposed solar farm, putting the $110 million project in jeopardy.
Duke said Thursday it will lease about 10 acres from the Purdue Research Foundation for the project it calls the Tippecanoe County Solar Power Plant.
Officials announced Tuesday that plans call for Brooklyn, New York-based Ranger Power to build the solar project in Shelby County starting in 2022.
Altogether, the projects will feature 6,196 panels that produce more than 2.7 million kilowatt hours annually, roughly enough to power 235 homes.
The farm can produce up to 600 kilowatts of power and is expected to generate 85 percent of the electricity used by the entire district.
The Indianapolis-based company, which began with a single dump truck 71 years ago, is about to go public in a merger worth up to $345 million.
Some in the booming U.S. solar-power industry are hoping a decision this week by President Donald Trump doesn’t bring on an eclipse.
IEA Energy Services has completed about 200 wind and solar projects around the country, including the 9,000-acre Benton County Wind Farm in northern Indiana.
The solar industry is girding for a slowdown after a decade of double-digit expansion.
Hamilton County officials are looking to install 9,300 panels on the roofs of the county’s criminal justice complex in Noblesville.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed a bill into law that will reduce the financial benefits available to those who install solar panels.
Thus far, the Indiana governor has refused to detail any action he may take, saying he was “still reviewing” them and “looking at every angle.”
Critics say the legislation will discourage the use of residential solar and hamper the solar industry in Indiana. But supporters say it will help protect consumers who don’t have solar.
The bill was approved Wednesday by an 8-5 vote and goes to the full House for consideration. It’s already been approved by the Senate.
