LAPORTE — A solar energy company is seeking permission to draw energy from the sun on 2,600 acres of farmland in LaPorte County.
Opponents of the proposed facility packed the LaPorte County Commissioners meeting on Wednesday hoping for a moratorium until there was a better understanding about industrial solar farms.
They were disappointed to learn it’s too late to place a moratorium on the current proposal, since the request to build and operate it had already been submitted Tuesday for consideration by the LaPorte County Board of Zoning Appeals.
RWE Clean Energy is seeking a special exception to the current agricultural zoning of the land in Kankakee and Wills townships.
Renewable Development Manager Emily McDuff said the amount of electricity produced by the solar panels would at least equal what’s needed to power every home in LaPorte County.
McDuff said the power would help replace the electricity to be lost when coal-fired generating plants in Indiana shut down.
She said the company would lease land from about a dozen landowners for 35 years and the solar farm would also mean about $100 million in property tax revenue for local governments.
After 35 years, McDuff said the solar farm would be decommissioned and the property restored to farmland.
McDuff also said barriers consisting of plants and other natural growth would be created around each of the sites.
Resident Heather Oake said the county’s solar farm ordinance should be amended to keep them away from residential neighborhoods. She also said she understands landowners not wanting to be forced into possibly selling one day for retirement income.
“I think we just need to be looking at both sides and really what the majority of the people want. Maybe we should do polling to find out,” she said.
Cindy Kusper and her husband stand to be compensated handsomely from about one-third of the solar operation resting on their 950 acres of farmland.
“We have a vision of making that land go back to where it is now. But, in the meantime, it helps us financially and secures us for the future,” she said.
Rhonda Haverstock said her husband, Jack, is retired from farming and they rent land to other farmers. She said a solar farm lease would prevent having to sell land that’s been in her family for generations.
“We’ve got children, grandchildren that we’d like to see benefit from this also. I’m asking everyone to consider our property rights,” she said.
Oake said she believes there are limits to the rights of someone owning property.
“I do have empathy for the farmers that want to lease their land. On the flip side, we have zoning laws. If we didn’t have any zoning laws, then sure, you can do whatever you want with your property, but we do have zoning laws,” she said.
Critics also pointed out the hundreds of construction jobs created would be all but gone once the facility is built, but Susan Thomas, director of legislation and policy for the group Just Transition Northwest Indiana, said a new industry is being created from the move toward cleaner energy.
Thomas said workers are being trained now to repair and maintain solar panels while receiving a livable wage.
“These are union jobs. It’s very exciting,” she said.
The BZA is expected to begin considering the proposal at its next meeting on May 21.
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