Holland Council hosts public Q&A with AES

The Holland Town Council hosted representatives from AES and the company that constructs its Battery Energy Storage System to answer questions on the Crossvine Solar development.

Before taking questions from the public, AES Indiana representatives presented details of their proposed 85-megawatt solar and battery storage project.

Jeff Cummins, an AES Indiana representative, opened the meeting by apologizing for multiple communication breakdowns, including malfunctioning email addresses, postcards arriving after scheduled events, and virtual meeting links that failed to reach registered participants.

“One after the other after the other, in terms of errors and mistakes on our part, it’s unacceptable,” Cummings said. “When we engage in a community, we and all developers need to do a better job.”

The Crossvine Solar project includes 85 megawatts of solar panels and 85 megawatts of battery storage, equivalent to powering 14,000 homes. The facility will feature 192,000 panels, 21 inverters, and 92 battery units, with construction planned to begin in 2026.

Cummins noted the battery energy storage system seems to be what surprised residents since it wasn’t in the initial design plans. “Regret that, it’s on us to make sure we outline clearly the full parameters of what we seek to do; what we seek to invest in your community,” he said.

AES Indiana acquired the project from Lightsource BP during development for $365 million. The company operates throughout Indiana with a generation footprint of 3.9 gigawatts serving 530,000 customers primarily in Marion County and surrounding areas.

Battery safety dominated the discussion, with representatives from Fluence Energy, the BESS manufacturer, Alex Wilcox and Michael Miller, presenting their Grid Stack Pro 5000 system the most recent iteration of the company’s BESS. Wilcox emphasized the BESS’s safety record, noting that they have deployed over 80,000 battery enclosures globally over the past three years without a single fire.

“We’re batting a thousand for three years,” Wilcox said, referencing deployments across Australia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Germany, the United Kingdom, and throughout the United States.

“We’ve had a few alarms and we’ve had to have people respond and reset,” he added. “But no fires.”

The battery enclosures feature multiple safety systems, including steel structures designed to contain fires, deflagration panels that release pressure upward, active venting systems, and multi-sensor detection for gases like carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Each enclosure operates independently to prevent fire propagation between units.

“If there were ever a thermal runaway event, the enclosure itself is designed to contain that fire,” Wilcox said.

The company stated it has conducted rigorous testing on these units, setting them on fire deliberately in controlled environments where it can monitor the toxins released and observe how the units break down. Wilcox explained that they have even purposely caused one to explode to see the results.

“We’ve proven over time that the fumes that come out of one of these battery fires are far less toxic than what you would have from a traditional either commercial or residential fire,” he said. “The gases you get from the wood, the metal, the plastics, electronics from a residential fire are generally way more toxic than we encounter from one of these.”

Community members raised sharp concerns about the project’s proximity to schools, with Holland Elementary, Huntingburg schools, and daycare facilities located within two miles of the proposed site. Several residents questioned evacuation procedures and emergency response capabilities.

One resident with electrical power experience challenged the safety claims, noting that lithium-ion battery fires can produce hydrogen fluoride at concentrations of up to 600 parts per million, well above dangerous levels.

“You have placed this thing upwind from two grade schools, high school and a couple daycares,” said Dave Duncan, calculating that toxic gas plumes could reach schools within three to six minutes depending on wind conditions.

Fluence representatives maintained that their system design eliminates the need for evacuations, with first responders trained to maintain a 150-foot safety perimeter and allow battery fires to burn out. The companies provide extensive training to local fire departments and have purchased equipment for other communities, including a new fire truck for Pike County.

Property value concerns dominated much of the discussion, with multiple residents expressing fears about decreased home values and increased insurance costs. Several attendees questioned why the project was located on prime farmland rather than in reclaimed coal-mining areas.

AES representatives acknowledged they could not fully explain the original site selection since they acquired the project from another developer. However, representatives from other solar developments have pointed to the proximity of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) high-voltage power line running through the county and the substations there as a reason for locating them in the area.

“It’s always attractive to us (AES) to have projects and investments in our state,” Cummins said. “We kind of value this part of the state in terms of where we’ve had a footprint in the past.”

Town council members questioned the site selection process, with one councilman suggesting that Dubois County’s lack of zoning regulations made it an attractive target for developers.

“I think the reason is because Dubois County doesn’t have any zoning, and it’s very simple for you guys to come in here,” said Holland Councilman John Kaltenbacher. “You get your permission from the state level and as long as you’re following the federal, state and all ordinances and setbacks…you have free rein.”

Kaltenbacher also raised concerns about the project’s impact on aviation safety, noting that aircraft departure patterns from the Huntingburg Regional Airport pass directly over the proposed site.

“I personally think you should have looked at this and went ‘this doesn’t pass the commonsense override test,'” he said, before doubling down on the lack of zoning being a factor.

Others questioned if the company would have individuals on-site during operations. According to Cummins, they will have an operations and maintenance individual here locally, but the system will be monitored virtually, and if something occurs, they will respond to it quickly.

Concerned attendees asked about evacuation procedures in the event of a BESS failure.

Addressing news reports of other communities evacuating due to a BESS failure or fire, Wilcox said they were overreactions.

“Some of the evacuations I’ve seen in the news were completely unnecessary,” he said.

Pointing to their tests and the toxins they have detected, Wilcox explained they have set a 150-foot radius away from the BESS in the case of a fire because that is twice as far as shrapnel traveled when they purposely blew one up. “Now, we’ve never encountered that (explosion) with any of our systems,” he said.

The project timeline shows construction beginning in 2026. AES plans another community open house on Jan. 21 and offered to arrange visits to their existing Pike County facility for interested residents.

The companies emphasized their commitment to working with the community on emergency response planning and providing necessary resources to local first responders. However, many residents remained unconvinced about the project’s safety and appropriateness for the location.

The Town of Holland has passed a resolution declaring the project a public safety threat and requesting Dubois County commissioners consider implementing zoning regulations. Nearly 1,000 residents have reportedly signed a petition opposing the project.

The meeting concluded with AES representatives promising to provide additional documentation requested by residents and to maintain ongoing communication with the community as the project moves forward.