Building permit issued for planned Walton solar farm - Kokomo Tribune
Building permit issued for planned Walton solar farm | News | pharostribune.com
Construction on a large solar farm in the town of Walton is closer to breaking ground after a building permit was issued on July 25 by the Cass County planning department.
Appleseed Solar is planning 200-megawatt solar field to take up about 2,000 acres in southern Cass County, according to its website. At planning and council meetings over the years, company representatives clarified the solar panels themselves will take up about 400 acres, and about 1,000 total acres would be equipment. The rest of the land would be used for setbacks and buffer.
Plans for the project were first disclosed to residents in June 2021. The project needed to go through several legislative steps, including having the land rezoned from agriculture to commercial, and received significant pushback from residents.
In December 2021, the Cass County Council struck an economic development deal with the project’s owner, approving a tax abatement plan calling for 10 years of a 100% abatement for real and personal property following a public hearing. Appleseed representatives also told the county that they will make $9.3 million in five payments to Cass County. The money can be used for anything that improves quality of life in Cass.
The project itself will bring in about $1 million a year in taxes for the next 30 years.
Appleseed is part of the alternative energy company NextEra. The company previously said it chose Cass County because it has access to transmission lines to put power on the electrical grid, has lots of sun and has landowners interested in renting them land.
The project costs $200 million to construct according to the building permit application. NextEra is planning to hire 225 construction jobs, and three to four permanent, skilled solar technician jobs.
Appleseed Solar received the required state permits to begin bringing in equipment to start moving dirt in April. It estimates to complete the project in December 2025 according to the permit application.
For more information on the project, visit www.nexteraenergyresources.com/appleseed-solar.html.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: solar
Declining costs and government encouragement have resulted in a rapid increase in solar energy production in the United States over the past 10 years, although solar’s share remains small: 1.6 percent of all electricity generation in 2018. That rapid growth is projected to continue.