Huntingburg’s solar park sent to council for approval

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Several Huntingburg residents appeared before the Huntingburg Planning Commission to remonstrate plans for a new solar park on Phoenix Drive.

Despite this, the planning commission approved the subdivision of 11.02 acres from a 40-acre plot to be used for the solar park. The Huntingburg Common Council will consider the subdivision as well as the rezoning of the property from R1 residential for single family homes to I2 heavy industrial at their meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at City Hall.

This is the second sight selected for the proposed park. Last year, after nearby residents of Barrington Estates raised stiff opposition to put the solar park on city-owned property at the intersection of Phoenix Drive and Chestnut Street, the city and the Indiana Municipal Power Agency began to explore other locations. According to Power Superintendent John Reutepohler, they investigated six locations before deciding on a plot of farmland belonging to Jerome Kersteins further west on Phoenix Drive.

The property was chosen due to it being within the city boundaries with easy access to the power grid serving the town and a nearby electrical substation. The nearest houses are located on North Anya Court about 650 feet away on a slightly elevated area.

The new location will house 7,000, 9-foot panels that will face south. The park is expected to produce about 1.8 megawatts of electricity at most. The electricity produced will alleviate demands on IMPA’s electric grid during peak use times; mainly during the summer.

To allay any concerns about reflection from the panels, Dan Worl, IMPA’s director of sustainable energy programs, compared it to a maple tree.

IMPA is building several solar parks across the state to assist in alleviating demand during those peak hours. By shaving off the demand, IMPA won’t have to go out of their market to purchase electricity to respond to the demand. According to Worl, this saves IMPA money and can mitigate price increases for their members.

“Every megawatt, every watt we pull out of solar is a watt we don’t have to buy,” Worl said.

Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency has mandated the electrical agencies have to increase their renewable energy portfolio to 20 percent of their total output. IMPA has offered the solar program to all of its 59 members. They have put in nine solar panel parks so far; the closest being in Tell City.

Four residents spoke up at the meeting Monday all concerned for the impact the park will have on the aesthetics of the area as well as the potential impact on their homes’ values.

Courtney Hagerdorn and Rusty Drew have a home at N. Anya Court. Drew told the commission they chose the spot as a compromise between the need for him to live within two miles of the city limits due to his position as a Huntingburg employee and their preference to live in the country.

“I’m totally against it. I don’t want to have to look out my back window and see 11 acres of solar panels,” Hagerdorn said. “I guarantee you guys do not like to look out your back window tons and tons of solar panels. I’m not going to put up trees because it’s not going to come out of my pocket. I moved there for a reason, for the country view, and I want to keep it that way.”

Drew agreed.

“Where our kitchen is, if you look out, it’s all country,” he said. “If the solar panels do come there, we’ll be looking out seeing solar panels.”

Tim and Jacqueline Roos also live on N. Anya Court. At the last board of zoning appeals meeting on January 11, Mrs. Roos stated they were concerned with their property value dropping due to the solar park. (Her letter to the city is at the end of the story.)

Mr. Roos spoke to the commission Monday night. “It’s not that we are against this coming in,” he said. “What we are disputing is that this is an industrial piece of equipment moving into a residential area.”

Roos said he had visited several sights and was not impressed with what he saw. “Personally, especially at Tell City, I don’t think they look that nice,” he said. “You can try to spruce it up as best you can but you are still looking at a large amount of steel just sitting there. It’s not that we are against it, it’s just where they are planning on putting it now.”

Mrs. Roos said that since it was going to be so close to a residential area, they shouldn’t do it. “He (Worl) is saying he has other options. If the only viable location he can locate is in a residential area, the correct answer is no,” she said. “You do the right thing and move to another area.”

Before the vote, commission president Mike Schmett pointed out that the final decision resided with the common council.

The motion passed unanimously with the members attending the meeting: Mike Schmett, Matt Julian, Kevin Haycox, Vicky Lewis, Kerry Blessinger and Primotivo Nino.

Roos provided the city with the following letter prior to the board of zoning appeals meeting held on January 11.

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