Jasper interested in becoming site for solar power array
Jasper could be in the running to have a one megawatt solar panel array built on city property; just not this year.
The Jasper Electric Committee heard that the Indiana Municipal Power Association(IMPA), a wholesale power provider, approached the city about donating land — 7 to 10 acres — for them to install a solar panel array.
According to Utility Services Manager Bud Hauersperger, IMPA is asking that the city donate the land and potentially offer a tax abatement for the project.
Ten cities across the state jumped on the list of potential sites but IMPA will only be installing arrays in three cities this year — Richmond, Frankton, and Rensselaer. Two of those sites will have fixed solar panels angled at 25 degrees in one direction. Richmond will have panels that track the sun as the earth rotates. IMPA will study the efficiency of both systems to determine the most cost-effective one to install at future locations.
The city would have applied for consideration this year if they had the necessary land available, Hauersperger explained. Since the most feasible site for the solar array is the old land fill on 350W, the city will have to seek approval from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management before offering it as a location for IMPA. “We think it is the best place because we can’t use it for anything else,” he said.
According to Hauersperger, he was aware of some stipulations involved for construction of the array on the site such as not sinking footers too deep into the cap of the landfill. But, he felt a concrete pad could be poured over the surface of the landfill for the solar panels to be built.
The one megawatt arrays will not be available for the City of Jasper directly, they will be for IMPA to supply on the power grid to the 59 members of the association.
Hauersperger stated he felt IMPA was exploring the solar arrays due to the recent mandate from the Environment Protection Agency to reduce emissions in Indiana by 20 percent by 2030.
Do I understand this right? We donate land. We give tax incentives. We have to seek approval from IDEM. We don’t get the power. Is there an incentive anywhere in this deal for us?