Solar farms unplugged for a year in Delaware County as commissioners order moratorium
MUNCIE, Ind. — Plans to create solar farms in northern Delaware County might not be finished but it appears they will be delayed.
After an onslaught of local opposition to the Meadow Forge solar project, aimed at the farm fields between Gaston and Matthews, Delaware County commissioners on Tuesday ordered a one-year moratorium on solar farm development.
"There has been misinformation presented on both sides," Commissioner Shannon Henry said when moving for the moratorium.
Commissioners also asked Marta Moody, Delaware-Muncie Metropolitan Plan Commission executive director, create a study committee consisting of people on all sides of the issue to develop a way forward for solar energy in the county.
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The crowd in the courtroom and the hallway for Tuesday morning's meeting broke into applause after the commissioners' unanimous vote in favor of the moratorium.
Additionally, commissioners approved changes to the county solar ordinance that were recommended by the plan commission last week. Those changes included making solar farms a special use rather than permitted use on farmland in the county. That change will mean that a hearing involving neighbors of a large solar project would be conducted and specific approval of each development would be necessary.
"Thank you," said Tammie Landess of Gaston, who said her home was "in the belly" of the Meadow Forge solar project. "This is the first time I have felt I have been represented. I moved here from Tipton County to get away from the windmills."
Meadow Forge is a project envisioned by Invenergy, a global energy company based in Chicago. The company worked with county officials in 2019, the year a solar ordinance was passed by the county.
Invenergy estimates $50 million in landowner payments over the life of Meadow Forge and $155 million in direct investment in the county. Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors forecast the company would deliver about $16.7 million in property taxes to Wes-Del Community Schools over 35 years of the project's life.
That did not mean, however, that the school would get additional money from the project through property taxes. School tax levies are capped in Indiana, meaning a public school can collect only so much by taxes. The money could help keep tax rates lower in the district.
Henry said concern about the tax revenue claims for school was part of what he meant by "misinformation."
The Gaston community has been torn by the proposed project after 17 local landowners signed leases to participate in the large solar project.
"It's not just good for us," farmer Tim Richey, who said he had signed a lease with Meadow Forge, told The Star Press after the meeting. "It's good for the whole community."
He said that farmers should have the right to use their property as they choose.
Invenergy attorney Kyle T. Resetarits of Indianapolis told commissioners that the company would reassess it situation but plans on remaining in Delaware County and hopes to participate in the study committee.
He urged commissioners to study the financial benefits of Meadow Forge in coming months. The company would pay the county up to $200,000 annually for the first 10 years of the project's operation in addition to its abated property tax bill through "economic development" payments.
Albany-area solar plans also impacted
Ben Friedell, executive vice president with National Renewable Energy Corp. of North Carolina, told commissioners that his company's smaller planned solar farm project near Albany, Hawthorn Solar, would be impacted by the commissioner's action.
Hawthorn's plans call for the installation of $88 million worth of equipment on roughly 355 acres bisected by Ind. 67 south of Albany in the vicinity of Muncie Dragway.
Friedell said his company had been working with neighbors of Hawthorn and had informed 30 households of the project early on. Plans originally called for construction to start this year.
"All we ask for is a clear understanding of the rules of the road," Friedell told commissioners.
After the meeting he said his company would be reassessing where it stood with the project in Delaware County but, for the moment, still planned to move forward.
Residents of the Gaston area have been divided concerning the planned solar project for the past three months after plans for the solar farm become widely known.
"It's splitting our community," Jim Mock said at the commissioners meeting. "We've got neighbors not talking to each other now. That's terrible."
Opponents were pleased and thankful for the moratorium and changes to the solar zoning ordinance approved by commissioners. But the future is uncertain. Demand for clean energy increases as coal power plants are decommissioned. Officials at the state level have been pushing to make Indiana solar-friendly.
"People don't like change," Richey told the commissioners. "I like to go have a steak dinner but I also like to flip the switch and have the lights go on."
John Taylor, a Muncie resident and solar supporter told the commissioners that the issue wasn't going away.
"It is the green wave. And it's coming," he said.
David Penticuff is the local government reporter at the Star Press. Contact him at dpenticuff@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Delaware County adopts year-long moratorium on creation of solar farms
