Randolph County chosen as site for mega solar park

WINCHESTER, Ind. — Randolph County, already home to two wind farms and an ethanol plant, has been selected as the site of a proposed 200-megawatt solar park.

The project was announced on Friday by EDP Renewables, Houston, Texas, and Bloomington-based Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative.

The two parties have executed a power purchase agreement to bring the Riverstart Solar Park to Randolph County.

The solar park is expected to be operational in 2022 and would be the largest solar array in the state, producing enough clean electricity to power approximately 37,000 households, the parties said in a news release.

The commitment by Hoosier Energy to buy the power would benefit 18 consumer-owned electric cooperatives in central and southern Indiana and southeast Illinois that serve more than 300,000 homes, farms, and businesses, the news release said.

Under the power purchase agreement, Hoosier Energy would receive all energy from the solar park for 20 years.

Greg Beumer, director of Randolph County Economic Development Corp., told The Star Press in an interview: "We are very pleased to hear this announcement. It has been for the county a long time in the works, and I think it continues to solidify our position here in Randolph County as well as our neighbors to the north in Jay County our desire to see continued growth and expansion in renewable energies."

It's Beumer's understanding the solar park would be installed on 1,600 acres or so in southwestern Randolph County, "which would be the Modoc and Losantville areas in general. Closer to Losantville is where EDP has their large power transfer station to get energy from its wind farm onto the grid."

How much of a certainty is the project?

"The information I have was as long as the cost of solar panels remains stable or gets less expensive — the power purchase agreement and all of the (federal) tax incentives are in place — it looks like a go," Beumer said.

EDPR real estate agents have spent about a year securing agreements to lease property for the project.

Beumer went on, "We'll keep our fingers crossed, but … with all of the trade wars and embargoes, I hope that doesn't mess it up for this deal. It sounds like agriculture in rural Indiana might have some problems with embargoes."

Solar photovoltaic prices are 52 percent lower than they were just five years ago, according to Alex Hobson, a spokesperson for the trade association Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

In January, SEIA said President Trump's decision to impose 30 percent tariffs on imported solar cells and panels would cause a crisis in the industry.

The organization said the decision would delay or cancel billions of dollars in solar investments. "It boggles my mind that this president — any president, really — would voluntarily choose to damage one of the fastest-growing segments of our economy," Tony Clifford, chief development officer at Standard Solar, was quoted in January.

SEIA last month again spoke out about the impact of possible steel and aluminum tariffs on the solar industry and the relationship between steel tariffs and those imposed on solar products.

"As President Trump prepares to issue an official decision on tariffs for steel and aluminum products, we want to remind him that the net loss of jobs and the cancellation of projects as a result of his solar tariffs are real and causing damage to America's energy economy," SEIA President Abigail Ross Hopper said on March 6.

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“The Riverstart Solar Park will provide an economical source of renewable energy for the next two decades and is a great fit for our members’ long-term needs,” Hoosier Energy CEO Steve Smith was quoted as saying in the press release. “We appreciate the relationship we have with EDPR and look forward to working with them to make this project a success.”

“EDP Renewables is pleased to advance our partnership with Hoosier Energy and to diversify our renewable energy portfolio in Indiana with the addition of the Riverstart Solar Park,” João Manso Neto, EDP Renewables CEO, said in the release.

Through this agreement, EDPR will increase its renewable energy footprint in Indiana. To date, EDPR has more than 800 MW of operational wind in the state and will have another 200 MW wind farm online by the end of 2018 in Benton County.

EDPR is a global leader in the renewable energy sector and the world’s fourth-largest wind energy producer.

Hoosier Energy is a generation and transmission cooperative providing electric power and services to 18 electric distribution cooperatives in southern and central Indiana and southeastern Illinois.

Hoosier Energy says it is committed to an “all-of-the-above” generation strategy and operates the coal-fired Merom Generating Station, three natural gas power plants, several renewable energy plants and a 1,700-mile transmission network.

The cooperative has adopted a voluntary renewable energy policy that calls for 10 percent of the energy supplied to members to be provided from renewable sources by 2025.