Invenergy analyst Tom Schoder presents a slideshow to Jay County Council Wednesday about a proposed solar farm in the county. Schoder said the company has been talking with local landowners and contracting space for the 35-year-long project. (The Commercial Review/Bailey Cline)
Invenergy analyst Tom Schoder presents a slideshow to Jay County Council Wednesday about a proposed solar farm in the county. Schoder said the company has been talking with local landowners and contracting space for the 35-year-long project. (The Commercial Review/Bailey Cline)
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Solar energy may be on the horizon in Jay County.

Tom Schoder, an analyst at the sustainable energy company Invenergy, presented plans Wednesday to Jay County Council for the company’s proposed solar farm in northwest Jay County.

The company’s plans for “Skycrest Solar” call for a $150 million, 155-megawatt facility located on about 2,500 acres in Penn and Jackson townships. A solar farm of that size would create enough energy to power more than 30,000 homes, Schoder said.

Invenergy estimates that the project would generate about $30 million in property taxes over the 35-year life of the facility in addition to $40 million in lease payments to participating landowners. There is also a proposed $1 million in economic development payments, similar to those that were part of the agreements with NextEra Energy and Scout Clean Energy for their wind farm projects in the county.

Jason Semler, a representative from Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, reviewed figures with council, explaining that the increased assessed valuation from the project would help keep tax rates down in the county.

The timeline laid out Wednesday calls for Invenergy to seek permits this year with construction to begin in 2022 and the facility to be operational as soon as 2024. The company estimates the project would create 150 jobs during construction and two full-time positions for operations and maintenance once complete.

The solar panels use photovoltaic technology, Schoder said.

“In each one of these panels, there’s a silicon cell that is actually absorbing photons from sunlight and creating direct current as a result,” Schoder said.

“That direct current is then converted into alternating current, which is what we use whenever we plug something into the wall, and that’s sent on to the larger grid.”

The panels, which stand 16 to 17 feet tall, also track the sun during the day and rotate slowly east to west slowly. They’re designed to withstand up to 140 mph winds and large hail.

Council member Ted Champ referenced the wind farms and the opposition they drew from some Jay County residents.

“You’ve done this before — what kind of stuff are we going to hear about these?” he asked Schoder. “There’s going to be people that flat don’t want these. What kind of stuff should we be prepared to hear?”

Schoder explained that photovoltaic technology is different from concentrated solar, which uses mirrors to reflect the sunlight up to a tower for conversion. Those plants have reports in which the concentrated solar rays killed some birds, he continued, but the equipment planned Jay County works differently and does not have the same issues.

Jay County in late 2019 adopted an ordinance laying out the rules for solar projects. They require a $20,000 application fee and a permit fee of $1,750 per megawatt hour. Setbacks for solar facilities are 25 feet from property lines of non-participating landowners and 50 feet from the road right of way. Access driveways to the facilities require a 50-foot setback from property lines. Solar farms are required to have a 25-foot-wide buffer that consists of “a compact evergreen hedge or other type of green foliage which shall be along the road frontage and perimeter of adjacent single family dwelling.” A fence, 6 to 8 feet high, is required and must be set back at least 30 feet from any property line.

Schoder said Invenergy will comply with the county’s ordinance and plans to plant long-rooted prairie grass under and around the solar panels for preventing weeds and promoting soil quality.

Invenergy, an international firm that has developed more than 175 projects in wind, solar, energy storage and natural gas, has shown interest in a local project for several years, first beginning to secure easements from property owners in 2018. It has 16 active solar farms in the United States, including Hardin II solar farm in Marion, Ohio, and Grand Ridge Solar near Streator, Illinois. Last month, the company announced completion of construction financing for the first phase of the Texas-based Samson Solar Energy Center, which is slated to be the largest solar energy facility in the country when it is complete.

Several other companies, including Scout and NextEra, have also shown interest in solar projects in Jay County, though they have not yet brought plans to county officials. Scout said in November that construction on its proposed project, which would be in the same area as its Bitter Ridge Wind Farm facility in southwestern Jay County, could begin as early as 2022.
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