EVANSVILLE — Vanderburgh County Commissioners agreed to table three agreements in front of them this week connected to a proposed solar development in Scott Township.
The Bluegrass Creek Solar Project, from Orion Renewable Energy Group, is planned for farm land near the intersection of Interstate 69 and Indiana 57. The plot is around 900 acres, located north of the Vanderburgh County Industrial Park.
The privately owned land is currently zoned for agriculture, and Orion is in the process of seeking a special use permit for the project.
An economic agreement, road use agreement and decommission agreement were up for discussion Tuesday in front of the county commissioners. Justin Elpers, Amy Canterbury and Mike Goebel voted to table all three until more questions were answered.
Local residents who spoke during public comment brought up a range of issues, including how Orion has been answering questions about the project.
Here's a look at the proposed project.
What is Orion Renewables currently proposing?
Mike Schopmeyer of Kahn Dees Donovan and Kahn, presented the agreements to the commission Tuesday, which also included a project description, outlining specific plans for the 900 acres.
Around 600 acres of the land would be filled with solar panels. The property will be leased to Orion, not sold, from about a dozen property owners, Schopmeyer said.
The leases are for 30 years, and allow for extensions up to 20 years, according to the project description.
Capacity for the project will be around 100 megawatts, with around a 21 megawatt battery system.
According to the project description, to connect to the power grid, an overhead transmission line would be built from the substation on the 900 acres, across I-69, to CenterPoint Energy's existing Elliott Substation.
The line will be around 1,000 feet long, the description states.
According to Orion, the electricity generated from the project could power around 20,000 homes in Southern Indiana.
What is the proposed economic impact to Vanderburgh County?
Orion is offering both jobs for residents and lump sum payments to the county if the project succeeds.
The investment from Orion is listed in the project description at around $200 million, offering around $30 million in tax revenue.
Jobs during construction will top out at 100, and during operation there will be chances to for several full-time and part-time opportunities, the company stated.
When would this project start?
Even if approved, the start date for the project would be years in the future according to the project description provided to the county.
Orion is asking for a total of three years to obtain an improvement location permit should the Board of Zoning Appeals allow the rezoning. According to the paperwork filed with the commissioners, CenterPoint will need until at least March 2028 to complete work which will allow the solar project to connect to its electrical grid.
"Which means commercial operation of the project cannot begin until summer 2028 at the earliest," Orion states.
Issues with how public meetings are running
Elpers said the developer has dropped the ball a bit on community outreach.
One public meeting was held in May, which Elpers said was not productive. Both he and Goebel felt the process would run more smoothly in a question-and-answer format, not with individuals moving to different stations.
"We've been inundated with emails about there's more questions than answers for the community," Elpers said.
Orion representatives held a public meeting Wednesday at Venue 812, as well. Reed Schmidt, an attorney with Dentons Bingham Greenebaum representing Orion, said more will be held if needed.
Elpers also voiced concern over how commissioners are being kept up to date on the project. He noted that along with the agreements before them Tuesday was the project description.
"I just think it's a little late," he said. "I would have liked that project description a month or two ago prior to this vote here."
Neighbors who spoke oppose development
Eric Cure, a northern Vanderburgh County resident and retired doctor, said about five years ago he worked on a petition against another proposed solar project in the county.
"What I found then was that unless you were the property owner that was getting money for the solar, most people were against it," he said. "Most of the time you'll find people want their neighborhoods to remain the same."
Cure said the area proposed for the solar build could be used for residential housing.
If all of the energy produced from the project would come to Vanderburgh County residents it might be different, Cure said. But the current plan is for the power to go to the grid.
"I think you'll find nobody wants to be surrounded by an industrial solar facility," Cure said.