ANDERSON — A county economic revitalization area that is the first step for a tax abatement for a second solar park in Anderson has been approved by the Madison County Council.
The Madison County Council recently approved a resolution declaring 27 acres in the county as an economic development revitalization for a planned 8.2-megawatt solar park.
The park will be located on Madison Avenue, north of Cross Street, with half the facility in Madison County and the remaining portion in the city of Anderson.
The Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) plans to invest between $11.5 million and $12 million for the installation of 30,000 solar panels.
The electricity produced would be the equivalent of what's needed to power 1,200 homes.
IMPA is requesting a 10-year tax abatement for the project from the county for an estimated $6 million investment in Madison County.
Jack Alvey, senior vice president of generation for IMPA, said the solar park will take an estimated four months to construct and should be generating electricity by the fourth quarter of 2017.
He said IMPA will pay the county $34,000 per year in lieu of property taxes. The tax abatement savings is expected to be $189,000 over 10 years.
IMPA is expected to pay $1.36 million in taxes over the next 35 years.
“We’re converting farm ground that was not very productive to a solar park,” Alvey said. “The economic development people in Madison County are very aggressive and prospects want to know the percent of renewable energy that is available."
He said IMPA wants to place a solar park in each community it serves. Currently there are solar parks in Anderson, Frankton and Pendleton.
Alvey said without the tax abatement, the utility would have to pass on the construction costs to consumers.
The cost per kilowatt of electricity produced should average 7.5 cents over the next 35 years.
Councilman Mike Gaskill, R-at large, said by granting a tax abatement, the county will be losing revenues that were received from the farming operation through property and local option income taxes.
Gaskill cast the only dissenting vote on the resolution.
Councilman Clayton Whitson, D-1st District, said the benefits to the county of establishing of the solar park can’t be seen on a spreadsheet.
IMPA has 13 solar parks currently in operation and the 5-megawatt plant along Park Road is the largest, Alvey said.
He said Anderson is a charter member of IMPA and is currently the agency’s largest purchaser of electricity.
Alvey said the solar panels will track the sun from east to west to maximize the generating of electricity.
“The power will be distributed to the Anderson grid system,” he said. “This is a stable source of power and there are no fuel costs.”
Originally, the first solar park in Anderson was planned for the northeast corner of Rangeline Road and Ind. 32, but was relocated to Park Road when the Federal Aviation Administration raised concerns about glare from the solar panels affecting pilots landing at the Anderson Municipal Airport twice a year.
The Park Road project cost an estimated $8.5 million for the 19,350 solar panels on 40 acres adjacent to a peaking power plant using fossil fuels. The peaking power plant was approved in 1980 and expanded in 2002.
The Anderson City Council in 2015 approved a 10-year tax abatement for the proposed solar park.