An aerial view of the roughly 2,000 acres of New Carlisle farmland that will be the site of a proposed solar farm and new tax-increment financing district linked with St. Joseph County's controversial Indiana Enterprise Center project on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in New Carlisle, near Spruce Road. Staff photo by Robert Franklin
A project in the works for the New Carlisle area would build a massive solar energy farm while also setting up a new special taxing district that could be used to funnel money toward tax incentives for the company and St. Joseph County’s development efforts in the “Indiana Enterprise Center” industrial zone.
County officials are working with renewable energy company RES to build the farm, nicknamed “Project Honeysuckle,” on up to 1,900 acres of farmland bounded roughly by U.S. 20 and Spruce, Tamarack and Darden roads.
The company this week confirmed the plan, which was also presented to members of the St. Joseph County Council, Redevelopment Commission and Board of Commissioners during a closed-door meeting in April, according to a slideshow presentation obtained by The Tribune.
With a proposed 365,000 solar panels and an output of 150 megawatts per year, the $164 million project would dwarf the county’s current largest solar farm and, according to RES, could provide enough clean energy to power more than 25,000 homes.
The project also is likely to spark debate over the creation of a new tax-increment financing district, which would allow the county to spend tax dollars generated by the project both on financial incentives for RES and ongoing work to bring new industry to the New Carlisle area.
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