Indiana Municipal Power Agency will soon construct a solar panel park on 22 acres of land along Memorial Drive in Crawfordsville. The $4 million project is set to begin in the spring of 2015.The reality of a solar panel park is imminent now that the path is clear for Indiana Municipal Power Agency to purchase 22 acres of land along Memorial Drive from Montgomery County Commissioners.
Jack Alvey, senior vice president of Generation for IMPA, said construction will begin as soon as the winter weather breaks in 2015. Once begun, the project will not take long to finish.
“The construction phase of the project will only take us two or three months,” Alvey said.
Upon completion, electricity production will begin at once.
“When everything is complete we will have electricity going online right away,” Alvey said.
The creation of the Crawfordsville Solar Park will be IMPA’s fourth solar project in Indiana. The other cities with solar parks already online are Richmond, Rensselaer and Frankton.
The local solar park will include approximately 8,000 solar panels on the 22 acres. The park will be a 2.0 megawatt facility making it the largest solar park in the IMPA system. The other facilities are 1.0 megawatt projects with approximately 4,000 solar panels. All were constructed in 2014.
Alvey said the electricity generated at the park will flow into the Crawfordsville distribution system.
The solar park is part of IMPA’s effort to diversify its portfolio of power generation. In an article from the IMPA Wire, IMPA Board Chairman Raj G. Rao said the agency has layered its power supply diversity.
“IMPA’s incremental diversification is also bolstered by the fact that no single generation unit carries the majority of IMPA’s electric load,” Rao said. “Rather, the many sources of generation that make up IMPA’s power supply portfolio — coal, natural gas, nuclear, wind and solar — work together to provide low-cost, reliable and environmentally responsible power.”
Alvey said the Crawfordsville Solar Park will be a $4 million project. IMPA is funding the entire project.
The three communities with existing IMPA solar parks are pleased with the projects and is a source of community pride, Alvey said.
“All of the communities are happy to show off their solar parks to others,” he said.
IMPA estimates the project will take up approximately 17 acres of the 22 available. Alvey said that should be enough to place the project away from homeowners and roads.
“The project will be placed so it will not be close to boundaries,” Alvey said. “The facility will have a security fence all the way around it.”
The final hurdle for IMPA rests in the hands of the Crawfordsville City Council. In January, the council is scheduled to approve the confirmatory resolution for a tax abatement for the solar park. After IMPA secures the tax abatement, the county will complete the sale of the acreage to IMPA.
IMPA, a wholesale electric power provider, is comprised of 59 Indiana members and one Ohio member. Local IMPA community members are Crawfordsville, Darlington, Ladoga and Waynetown.
IMPA would like to have a solar panel park in all 60 communities.