Smith
Officials with an Arizona- and New York-based company that is seeking to build a commercial solar energy system on nearly 1,200 acres of farmland in Bartholomew County have described the project as a “win-win” for the community and participating landowners.
Company officials plan to have a public event next week for people to ask questions. The event will be held at The Columbus Workshop, 4389 N. Long Road, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday.
“We’ve been developing the project for several years in the area and have been working closely with not only the city of Columbus, but also with the county on making sure we’re following all the required ordinances” Arevon Energy CEO Kevin Smith said.
“It’s going to provide competitive clean energy for decades to come, and we’ll increase competition on the power markets and help keep electricity prices low,” Smith added. “So, we think it’s a great project, a win-win, with the benefits to the community and to the land owners.”
Last month, Swallowtail Solar LLC and its parent company Arevon Energy Inc. said they had filed an application with county planning officials that would start the process of securing permits to build a 200-megawatt commercial solar energy system across 21 privately owned properties in Clay and Flat Rock townships.
The company, which has described the project as a “large infrastructure investment of approximately $272 million,” also includes the creation of a pollinator-friendly habitat on the participating properties. Besides solar panels, the project would include, among other things, electrical cabling and conduits, perimeter fencing and a project substation that connects the renewable energy system to the grid.
The solar energy system would cover a stretch of privately owned properties largely bound by North County Road 500E to the west, East County Road 275N to the south, North County Road 650E to the east and parts of East County Road 400N to the north, according to a preliminary site plan. However, some of the participating properties are located outside of that general area.
The solar energy system is projected to generate enough energy to power more than 30,000 homes, according to company officials.
Should the project ultimately be approved, construction could begin as early as next year and is expected to last 14 months, becoming operational in 2026, the company said in its application.
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, and New York City, Arevon Energy Inc. describes itself as a leading renewable energy company that develops, builds, owns and operates solar and storage projects across North America, according to its website.
The company said in its application that it is currently developing seven solar projects in six other Indiana counties that are expected to generate a combined 1.1 gigawatts of power.
Smith said Arevon Energy does not yet have any agreements to sell the power generated through the project, though company has had discussions with “potential offtakers” and has a “strong idea” of the pricing that the project can yield. Officials said the power generated through the project would be used locally.
“Once we get the permits in place, then we would start to more formally market the project for electricity offtake, which could be to utilities within the state, or it could be large corporate buyers,” Smith said. “The Midwest market is an interesting market in that it’s relatively deregulated, so you can actually sell power to large corporates as well.”
Solar farms have been the subject of controversy in Bartholomew County in recent months.
In April, dueling lawsuits were filed after the City of Columbus approved zoning for portions of a large solar farm by California-based Carina Solar LLC, a division of Samsung C&T, in the city’s jurisdiction and Bartholomew County denied zoning approval for portions in its jurisdiction.
Carina Solar LLC sought a conditional use permit to build a solar farm on about 1,880 acres of land leased from more than two dozen local landowners. After hearings just days apart before the Bartholomew County Board of Zoning Appeals and the Columbus BZA in February, the county denied the application on roughly 1,100 acres, but the city approved the application on about 800 acres.
On March 26, Carina Solar sued the Bartholomew County Board of Zoning Appeals after the BZA rejected its application in February. That denial applied to the portions of the proposed farm under county zoning jurisdiction.
On March 27, a group of more than two dozen landowners who oppose the solar farm plan sued the Columbus BZA. The landowners challenged the approval of portions of the solar farm within city zoning jurisdiction. The two lawsuits, which are still pending, were later consolidated.
Arevon Energy officials wouldn’t comment on the lawsuit involving the other project or whether the litigation gave them any pause before moving forward with the permitting project.
Smith said the company has been working with the Bartholomew County government and is fully compliant with what he described as a “strict” county solar ordinance and has received support the landowners involved and others.
Arevon Energy Inc. estimates that the proposed project would add $56 million in net assessed valuation to Bartholomew County over its 30-year lifespan and would generate tax revenue for local school systems and Bartholomew County government, among other entities.
In addition, the project is expected to create 235 jobs during construction and around five full-time positions for onsite operations and maintenance. The company said it is not seeking any tax abatements.
Jemma King, development project manager for the Swallowtail project, said she has heard “a lot of concerns about loss of farmland” in the community and “maybe not a lot of understanding of the decommissioning requirements that we have in place to return the project to what it was after the project is at the end of its life.”
“We have obligations to do that, both to the landowners and also to the county,” King said.
