As a national solar company based in Indiana, we love how solar power is growing in our own backyard, especially when it’s large megawatt-scale solar plants that will help transition the Midwest to cleaner power.
We’d like to give a shout-out to Bloomington, Indiana-based generation and transmission (G&T) rural electric co-op Hoosier Energy, which is building 10 solar photovoltaic (PV) farms to provide locally based renewable energy to its 18 member distribution co-ops in central and southern Indiana and southeastern Illinois. These installations are part of Hoosier Energy’s “all-of-the-above” power supply strategy and commitment to provide at least 10% of its members’ energy requirements from renewable sources by 2025.
Hoosier Energy joins a growing number of co-op utilities that are installing solar. According to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the deployment of solar power plants is accelerating in the rural electric cooperative community, with the amount of installed generating capacity expected to triple to more than 550 MW by 2018.
Inovateus Solar managed the turnkey design, engineering, procurement, and construction services for Hoosier Energy’s first three solar farms. The trio of projects—located in Greene, Henry and Harrison counties in Indiana—were completed in the latter part of 2015 and operational in the first week of January 2016. Together, these solar farms provide enough energy to power at least 450 homes.
Featuring replicated layouts and designs by Inovateus, each 1.33 MW installation includes more than 4,300 PV panels mounted on single-axis tracking arrays that follow the sun all day as well as advanced DC:AC inverter power electronics systems. Hoosier Energy financed the equipment for the $2.3 million farms via a long-term 20-year lease-to-own package.
As the Hoosier Energy project demonstrates, solar increasingly makes sense for co-ops. With solar, they can have power generated and distributed where they need it. By designing and engineering multiple sites and aggregating the components procurement, Inovateus streamlined costs for Hoosier Energy and provided a template for future co-op project development.
Site-selection criteria for the solar farms focused on high-visibility locations near an interstate and proximity to a substation to facilitate interconnection. The completion of the first three systems was celebrated at dedication ceremonies hosted by the local co-ops and attended by stakeholders, dignitaries, media and schoolchildren, with logistics, publicity and planning assistance from Hoosier Energy.
The PV farms represent an opportunity for Hoosier Energy and its member distribution systems to educate the community on the costs and benefits of utility-scale solar projects. Bringing affordable, reliable power to the local communities is something Inovateus hopes to do more of in Indiana and throughout the Midwest and beyond in the coming years.
By Mauricio Anon, brand ambassador, Inovateus Solar
