Harrison County is known for its acres upon acres of farmland, mainly corn and soybeans.

The county soon may be home to a never-before-seen type of farm, at least in these parts, that looks like something out of a sci-fi film.

Hoosier Energy, an energy cooperative in which Harrison REMC is a member, has preliminary plans for a solar farm to be placed on a 19-acre parcel near the Lanesville interchange, just east of Areva Pharmaceuticals along Interstate 64.

Hoosier Energy projects the farm will provide enough power to run 500 to 600 homes.

"That's conservative; we think it'll be more like 1,000," Chuck Martindale, economic development coordinator with Hoosier Energy, said.

He said it's certainly not a replacement for their base sources of coal and natural gas.

Coal accounts for 64 percent of Hoosier Energy's power, while natural gas totals 33 percent. Renewable energy — currently hydro, wind and coalbed methane — only accounts for 3 percent.

Darrell Voelker, Harrison County Economic Development Corp. director, visited the Harrison County Council Monday night to ask for a declaration of the area as economic revitalization, which would pave the way for a tax abatement for Hoosier Energy.

Martindale said the cooperative plans to install 10 solar farms throughout their region, which includes 48 Indiana counties and 11 in southeastern Illinois.

"We're looking for local government support," Martindale said.

The farm will include 4,000 to 4,400 one-megawatt panels aligned together in structures of six. The structures will stand four feet from the ground and will shift with the sun throughout the day, standing at eight feet at their peak. The personal property cost of the solar farm, on which the 10-year tax abatement will be requested, is approximately $2.7 million.

"They're very durable, very efficient," Martindale said. "That's why we're getting into this."

The farm will be surrounded by an eight-foot-tall chain-link fence with barbed wire.

Martindale said Harrison County has a larger-than-usual average kilowatt per hour usage because of the lack of energy source facilities.

The solar farm will benefit the area by increasing real and personal property tax revenues accruing from increased assessed valuation.

Martindale also said they could put all of their planned solar panels together in a remote area, but he thinks it will be good for Harrison County, Hoosier Energy and Harrison REMC to have it in a highly visible spot in view of 30,000 vehicles per day on I-64.

"We want people to see what their cooperative is doing," he said.

David Lett, CEO of Harrison REMC, said he and the board of directors are very excited about the opportunity. "We think it's a win-win," he said.