Jeremy Comment didn’t pay much attention to the solar energy bill moving through the Legislature this session, because he knew it wasn’t going to have much impact on the solar farm he’s building in rural Angola.
That’s because this Goshen entrepreneur’s solar farm isn’t going to rely on net metering to produce income from an electric utility, in this case, Northern Indiana Public Service Co.
Instead, Comment’s system, when up and running possibly by June, will rely on a different fee arrangement, known as a feed-in tariff, when his farm sends electricity into the grid. It is regulated by the federal government.
“It doesn’t impact me directly,” Comment said about Senate Bill 309, which received final approval Monday and is working toward Gov. Eric Holcomb for his consideration. It is not known how the governor leans on the bill that was viewed as controversial because it set limits on fees solar producers of electricity could receive in the future, ultimately phasing out the current retail payments to homeowners, businesses, schools and the like that invest in solar and put energy into the grid in net metering arrangements.
“It’s one of those (bills) that’s going to take some deep consideration,” Stephanie Wilson, Holcomb’s press secretary, said.
When interviewed, Comment said he didn’t know much about the details of SB 309, though he knew there were rumbles out there about the utilities possibly putting the squeeze on non-commercial solar operations.
Comment sees SB 309 as a way for the utility companies — particularly the large companies (he speaks glowingly about his relationship with NIPSCO, a fondness he doesn’t hold for the larger concerns) — to start looking at other ways to curb growth in renewable energy.
“They kind of got their foot in the door (via SB 309),” he said.
But that’s down the road, as far as Comment can tell with his operation as a sole proprietor doing business as 1AU LLC.
The difference between Comment’s system and others is that his puts electricity directly into the grid as a generator. Others, like the one being built at Fremont Community Schools and the one in operation at Wible Lumber in South Milford, put electricity into the grid in exchange for credit on utility bills, which is known as net metering.
Comment is an engineer who works for an original equipment manufacturer for the automotive industry. He commutes to Portage, Mich., for work, but is investing in systems like the one under construction northwest of Angola. Solar, he quipped, is not his day job. Yet.
Comment’s build off of West C.R. 100N near Interstate 69 is on about 10 acres of ground. The solar farm covers a small portion of the land.
“It’s quite a process,” he said. In addition to the grant and process to get a contract with NIPSCO, Comment had to get a variance from the Angola Plan Commission, something he received in 2015.
His system is working through a federal grant program that requires smaller solar installations be built in ag-related communities. Comment scoped out a variety of properties close to home then bid on a contract with NIPSCO. The contracts with utility companies are awarded by a lottery.
“That site there in Angola was one on a short list of properties,” Comment said. “We were looking for a site where we would be eligible for the grants.” Plus there were some technical requirements, which this site provided.
Even though the Angola site is large enough to put in more panels, Comment said his system is limited by the grant program.
“What we’re putting in up there is as big as we can make it,” Comment said.
The system is capped at 200 kilowatt hours of alternating current (300 kilowatts of direct current) that Comment said will power some 60-90 homes.
“Physically we’ve got a pretty large footprint, but in the grand scheme of things, not so much,” he said.
Comment said he would like to build more systems such as the one near Angola if he can be awarded contracts.
“If we can get more contracts, great,” he said.
Comment’s Angola solar farm will provide power to homes and businesses in the general vicinity of his operation.
“It’s going to be consumed right there, reasonably close,” he said.
Comment’s system and others like it allow utilities to capitalize on the fact that they don’t have to generate electricity by other means, whether it is fossil fuel or renewables, then transport it for miles and miles to the end user.
“The closer you can get the generator to the user, the lower your cost,” he said.
Comment knows. He has 46 solar panels at his home that produce 10 kilowatts of power. Near Angola, when running, the array will have 915 panels with 912 producing energy.
By comparison, the IKEA store being built near Indianapolis will have 3,888 solar panels on its roof, enough to power 182 homes, Indianapolis area media have reported.
It will be the largest rooftop system in the state.
At the Indianapolis International Airport, the airport authority has installed one of the largest solar farms in the world with nearly 90,000 panels that can produce 36.1 million kilowatt hours per year, enough to power 3,650 homes, the airport authority’s website says.