GOSHEN — Elkhart County leaders could make decisions over the next few days on whether or not to green light controversial plans for a large solar energy farm near Millersburg.
The commissioners are set to discuss a requested zoning change for the proposed project again during their meeting Monday. The commissioners tabled the issue nearly two months ago to allow more time to consider the plans and the support for and opposition to them.
Yet that delay doesn’t mean commissioners have made up their minds.
“I still have no firm direction on where I’m going to go on Monday and how I’m going to vote,” commissioner Suzie Weirick said Wednesday. “Zoning decisions like this are never easy. I’m just trying to gather all of the information, all of the comments, and then try to make the best decision possible.”
Weirick expects to factor a potential County Council vote into her decision. The council is scheduled to consider an economic development agreement involving the project during their meeting today.
This was part of the reason why the commissioners tabled the zoning issue in August — they wanted to give the council time to take action on the agreement. The commissioners also wanted more clarity on Savion’s plans for restoring the properties if the company decommissions the solar panels at the end of the 30-year lease.
The postponement also opened the way for the Elkhart County Council to decide on a portion of the proposed development. That discussion is set to be held during the council’s meeting today.
THE PROJECT
Kansas City-based Savion LLC, through its new Elkhart County Solar Project LLC, plans to invest $120 million to build solar arrays on approximately 850 acres of farmland bounded by Ind. 13, C.R. 146, C.R. 148 and C.R. 43 south of Millersburg. The land would be leased from the owner for 30 years, under agreements, and after the term, if Savion doesn’t renew the leases, the properties would revert back to the owners’ control.
The company expects the arrays to generate up to 150 megawatts of energy, and the sites were selected since they’re near American Electric Power transmission lines. Savion staff have said the power produced would pool into the electrical grid, though the electricity would be used in Elkhart County first.
The panels would be mounted on 15-foot-tall-posts, and the arrays would be surrounded by chain link fences, which themselves are intended to be obscured by tree and shrub landscaping.
The commissioners considered the details of the project while facing a vote on whether to update the properties’ zoning with Savion’s development plan on Aug. 16. The commissioners ultimately tabled the vote following a more than three-hour meeting, in which several neighbors voiced opposition to the proposed solar project.
OPPOSITION
That use of the land, possible environmental effects and effects on the values of neighboring properties were among the top issues for residents opposing the proposed project. Neighbors also spoke up about the potential for the solar arrays to disrupt the rural views from their homes.
“We’re all holding our breath honestly — we feel unheard, as far as our concerns,” Kathy Fry said Wednesday, while also acknowledging she felt like the commissioners did listen to concerns about the views from homes.
Fry was one of the opponents who spoke during the August meeting. Her home along C.R. 146 would face one of the arrays.
Since the panels would tilt each day to follow the sun, she said she’s concerned about light reflecting onto her house. She also enjoys the view of farm fields from her home, and she worries an array in the middle of the scenery would ruin the immersiveness.
“You have to see it to understand why we’re against it,” Fry said.
She believes solar projects should not be built around homes. After traveling to Georgia this summer, Fry said she saw arrays near Indianapolis and Atlanta that didn’t appear to be located near residential areas.
She said she’s apprehensive about Monday’s decision and wished the commissioners would vote against the project.
“I hope they don’t – I really hope they don’t just because it should not be close to residents at all,” Fry said. “It should be in an area where there’s no people living.”
Weirick pointed out the question of a property owner’s rights on using their land vs. visual annoyances is one of the several she’s weighed over the past couple months since this is an issue with more concerns than zoning involved.
“This isn’t just a zone change request,” Weirick said. “If it is, we have a heavy, heavy property rights question and answer. But because there are competing points of view, it is never that straightforward.”
Representatives from Savion, meanwhile, said they look forward to the upcoming council and commissioners meetings.
“Favorable outcomes at these meetings would represent key milestones to ensure the project moves forward,” Sara Mills, development director, said in an emailed statement. “Over the past several months, there has been a lot of work to build awareness and engage with the community and elected officials on the benefits of the solar project. The project will contribute $22 million in estimated new property taxes over its 30+ year operation.”
Weirick noted the council meeting will include the final discussion on the proposed project, and she’s interested in what new information, if any, could come out of that. Monday’s meeting likely won’t include a public hearing on the issue since such a hearing was already held in August.