A 28-ton Tesla battery is unloaded at the Fulton County REMC and Ag Technologies solar collection and storage site in Talma. Photo provided
Talma solar project facts
A solar array with storage installed in Talma may be the first of its kind in Indiana.
Fulton County REMC and Ag Technologies partnered on the project, which is now collecting energy through a grid of 2,855 solar panels.
Storage will come by way of two, 56,000-pound Tesla batteries. The setup is east of Alumi Tech Products in Talma on a 5-acre plot of leased land.
The solar array is collecting energy. Batteries are hooked up and energized. Meters are to be installed this week, then the project will be fully operational, said Ag Technologies’ Jim Straeter.
“The project will pay for itself and save the cooperative an additional $2 to $4 million dollars over 20 years,” said Joe Koch, chief executive officer of the REMC.
The storage capability is what makes the project different, and new to Indiana, Straeter said. He holds a patent on the solar collection technology, Solar Cam adjustable arrays.
The solar array is connected to the REMC’s Richland substation, where any electricity produced will be distributed and used, Koch said.
Solar power generated will be distributed through the power lines. During off-peak hours, the giant batteries will store power. During peak times, they will discharge power. That will save the cooperative money in that it won’t have to purchase power during higher-cost peak usage times. It will also increase the reliability of the grid.
It’s the first alternative energy project for the local REMC, Koch said. The cooperative is under no mandate to produce alternative power.
But doing so benefits the cooperative in several ways, first of which is cost savings.
First Federal Savings Bank financed the project. Loan payments will be made with an estimated $3.8 million of savings the project is estimated to generate, Koch said.
The project also will help lower the cooperative’s overall cost of power, provide small wildlife and pollinator habitat, provide alternative energy to some members of the cooperative and be a place for students to learn about alternative energy, Koch said.
Straeter noted the project was completed with all local help, from site prep to financing, technology and wiring.
The Solar Energy Industries Association estimated U.S. energy produced by solar systems was 4.1 percent in 2019. By 2022 that percentage is estimated to reach 13.9 percent; by 2025, 23.9 percent.
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