According to the Sierra Club, over 170 cities and small towns across the U.S. have already set 100% clean energy goals. While many of these cities and their municipal utilities are transitioning to solar to meet climate and financial goals, solar developments can offer many other benefits that impact local jobs, the overall environment, and economic business development. Inovateus’ work developing, financing, and installing solar power plants for the City of Kokomo, IN;
Pratt, KS; and Logansport, IN are three examples of how installing nearby solar power plants can positively affect the communities while simultaneously meeting clean energy and financial goals.
Kokomo Indiana – Transforming a Super Fund Site Becomes a Super Solar Site
The EPA award-winning 29-acre, 7.2 MW Kokomo Solar One project Inovateus developed for the City of Kokomo, Indiana is a perfect example of how solar can revitalize communities and create jobs.
For a decade, the City of Kokomo tried to attract new industrial companies and manufacturers to a brownfield and superfund site. The land formerly held an industrial steel manufacturing plant owned by Continental Steel, who closed the plant in 1986.
Years later, the City of Kokomo took over the land and asked its community how they’d like to redevelop it. With the cooperation and grant funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the City decided to redevelop part of the brownfield into a solar farm. Additional acreage was converted into a recreation area. Duke Energy was brought on board to purchase the solar energy, which Duke could then distribute locally to Kokomo residents.
While the City has benefited from the installation’s clean low-cost solar energy, the entire community has benefited even more from repurposing unused land and inspiring economic development and the benefits of parkland for local families.
The City of Pratt, KS – Creating Jobs and Future Solar Job Training
Inovateus Solar developed a 7.67 MW solar farm in Pratt, Kansas, which became operational in early 2019. As the video below shows, the City of Pratt was no stranger to renewables. With plenty of land, sunshine, and wind in Kansas, the community has embraced wind, solar, and biofuels, cementing the town’s reputation for sustainability and helping to keep the municipal utility’s rates in check.
When city utilities procure solar power, their primary goal is to have consistent, reliable, clean power at a predictable power purchase agreement (PPA) rate. This rate must also be competitive with current electric rates. Beyond competitive pricing, Inovateus puts special attention toward learning about community needs, particularly regarding their vision for sustainability.
For example, at Pratt, we worked with former Mayor Doug Meyer and other city leaders to hire local contractors to help install the solar panels, build new power lines, and construct roads and other utility solar plant infrastructure, creating jobs.
Mayor Meyer used the project as a model to help add a solar installation training and maintenance program to the Pratt Community College curriculum, which seeks to create a new Kansas hub for solar training—and solar jobs—in the City of Pratt.
City businesses benefit indirectly thanks to the influx of workers around a project. From gas stations to bars and restaurants, to hardware stores, hotels, and more, Inovateus team members do as much as they can to personally support the towns and cities that are also supporting their work.
Logansport, IN: Solar, Bees, Butterflies, and Jobs
Our 16 MW, 80-acre Logansport Municipal Utility (LMU) project in Logansport, Indiana is the latest example of how solar can bring extra benefits to cities.
The city recently retired its locally-owned coal fired power plant, which closed after 120 years of service. With the support and vision of the City of Logansport, LMU, and City Staff, LMU’s first solar project marks a new milestone. Once completed in early 2021, the project will operate under a 30-year power purchase agreement that will provide LMU clean solar generation at a fixed kilowatt-hour rate with no upfront capital costs. The contract includes options for LMU to take ownership of the solar energy system at a future date.
As with Pratt, Inovateus worked with city and utility managers to hire local labor, supporting 20 jobs in Logansport.
To further exemplify Logansport’s commitment to sustainability, Inovateus is providing bee and butterfly-friendly ground cover. This type of vegetation will beautify the solar farm while supporting honeybee populations that pollinate nearby farms. Additionally, the project further enhances the area, through a 45-foot natural buffer consisting of native Northern Indiana trees, plants, and over 100 tulip trees donated by the community.
Also similar to the Pratt community, Inovateus learned that education is important to Logansport, so we designed a solar education program for Logansport Community School Corporation and launched a college scholarship contest for naming Logansport’s new solar park. (Contact us to find out about the winner and the new name!)
What all three municipal solar installations have in common
These three municipal solar installations have three points in common: Reliability, jobs, and investing in the community.
First, all three city utilities wanted reliable, lower-cost solar energy at a set kilowatt-hour price over a long-term contract. This aspect is the minimum requirement for any solar developer and finance company.
Second, the cities wanted the solar installation to help create local jobs. Inovateus’ brand promise is “Investing in your energy future,” so we were happy to fulfill that promise by hiring as many local contractors as possible and supporting local businesses.
Third, the cities understood a solar developer could do more for the community than just installing solar panels. Inovateus is proud to provide educational and economic opportunities to Kokomo, Pratt, and Logansport. We are equally proud of our commitment to sustainable solar development that helps improve the land, agriculture, and the city’s residents’ quality of life.
There are approximately 950 municipal utilities and 850 cooperative utilities in the U.S. today. All are beginning their transition to renewable power, and we hope that Kokomo, Pratt, and Logansport can be positive models for how to get the most out of installing solar for their citizens.
