Crawfordsville officially has solar power moving through its electrical grid. Indiana Municipal Power Agency executive, city and county officials and residents gathered Monday for the official ribbon cutting of the IMPA Crawfordsville Solar Park.
IMPA Board Chairman Raj G. Rao said producing solar energy at a facility owned by IMPA provides two main benefits to the community.
“A solar park is a green source of energy and it is affordable,” Rao said. “Our cost per kilowatt per hour is seven cents. Compare that to the cost at the Indianapolis airport which is 24 cents.”
With the addition of six solar parks in six different Indiana communities, Rao said IMPA now has coal, nuclear and wind sources of energy within its energy matrix.
“When we asked ourselves if there is a way we can bring benefits to our member communities, we decided solar was the answer,” Rao said. “We are expecting this solar park to last for 50 to 60 years.”
Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton was on hand and also gave remarks at the ceremony. He said teamwork was the key to bringing the solar park from an idea to reality.
“What you see today is the result of a lot of teamwork,” Barton said. “The city, county and IMPA and a lot of people came together to get this done.”
The land was acquired from Montgomery County Commissioners. Rao thanked Commission President Phil Bane for helping IMPA obtain the land required for the 3-Megawatt facility. Commissioners also awarded IMPA a 10-year tax abatement on the solar park.
Barton talked of another benefit of having the IMPA Solar Park.
“We are on ground that was not providing any taxes back into the tax rolls when the county owned it,” Barton said. “From now on, we will be receiving taxes on this solar park and that is very important.”
Crawfordsville Electric Light & Power Manager Phil Goode is also the vice chairman of the IMPA Board of Directors. Goode is pleased the solar park is operational.
“This is a good day for our community,” he said. “We are putting renewable energy on the grid in Crawfordsville at a very affordable cost.”
State Rep. Dr. Tim Brown (R-Crawfordsville) said the solar park will be important as the city tries to attract new employers.
“The IMPA Solar Park made Crawfordsville more competitive to attract jobs in Indiana,” Brown said.