SOUTH BEND — After negotiating some concessions from Indiana Michigan Power, a state agency and a nonprofit consumer advocacy group are dropping their opposition to a solar farm the utility wants to build in Granger, according to a settlement agreement.
The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor in late September filed documents asking the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to deny I&M’s request to build a $37 million solar farm southeast of Bittersweet Road and the Indiana Toll Road, recouping the project’s costs through a rate hike.
In its filings with state regulators, the OUCC had argued the project would cost more than it should because of I&M’s plan to locate it near the University of Notre Dame, which has committed to buying renewable energy credits for 40% of the solar farm’s power for 30 years, as part of the university’s goal to increase its use of renewable energy.
The OUCC has argued that the solar panels wouldn’t receive enough sun at the site, a part of the state with the least amount of sunlight, especially when the panels are covered by lake-effect snow.
The utility paid about $5.1 million for the farmland, more than it would have paid for rural land elsewhere, and the solar facility could realize lower operating costs through economies of scale if it was larger than what I&M is proposing, the OUCC has argued.
“I&M’s arguments that customers should pay more for the project because I&M, solely within its discretion, chose a poor location are nonsensical,” the OUCC has stated in a filing. “The co-branding for both Notre Dame and I&M, and associated image building for the project, do not justify the premium cost that I&M customers must now bear.”
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