FAQs
Is this happening anywhere else in the United States?
Yes, many solar companies are going after rural land to turn into solar plants. In most cases these land grabs are averaging 500-1,500 acres at most in a single county. Pulaski County currently has 9,203 acres at risk for being transformed from productive farmland to solar plants. In an article by Tom Venesky, a local Pennsyvania farmer(Doug Ketner) states his concerns about his own battle with solar companies:
“As a property owner in the small farming community of Lurgan Township, Doug Ketner admits that he has a lot to gain by leasing land to a proposed solar farm.
But he just can’t overlook what could be lost.”
Does this affect if I am planning on purchasing property in Pulaski County?
Currently, the solar company’s contracts are not required to be recorded in Pulaski County. Unless provided some other notice, the abstract and title companies will not be able to discover the solar contracts until they are recorded. Realtors may also be unaware and unable to disclose that the property you purchase could be surrounded by solar panels.
Please beware before you invest in Pulaski County!
What happens when you deploy too much solar energy?
Solar energy is only produced during sunlight hours and these solar energy plants cannot replace the operations of a coal, natural gas, nuclear power plants or other forms of continuous 24/7 energy. Cloudy days and dust can reduce the power produced. Solar energy will require energy storage devices, currently in the form of Li batteries to deliver energy during dark hours. Battery storage technology has not yet developed to a point where it is economical and reliable on utility size projects and they carry their own disposal and environment issues. Utilities will still need to supplement with other sources of power (natural gas plants) during the off hours of a solar plant to provide reliable power.
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Where does Solar Energy make sense?
Due to the extensive use of land, large solar energy plants are typically designed to go on nonproductive farmland in southern latitudes with higher solar radiation. That is why you see AZ, TX, CA, and NC leading in solar power production. Placing solar panels on prime Indiana farmland, in our northern latitude, is not the most efficient place for a solar plant. Pulaski County’s limited restrictions and lenient ordinances allow for solar developers to take advantage of our rural county to lower their project costs. If Pulaski County’s ordinances provided the same protection that many other counties have in place protecting their county’s agricultural zoned areas, this project would not have been approved. Pulaski County has one of the lowest application fees for commercial solar energy compared to other counties. Neighboring White County’s fee schedule is $20,000 plus $1,750 per MW. Pulaski County recently lowered their permitting fee from $1,250 per MW to a flat fee of $15,000 per solar project. Pulaski County would have received $937,500 based on their previous fee schedule of $1,250 per MW for GEG’s proposed 750 MW solar project. Instead, the county will be receiving a flat fee of $15,000.