Project
News &
Events
Shine Like the SUN,
Elkhart County
PROJECT INFORMATION
LOCATION
Elkhart County Solar Project is located about
7 miles southeast of Goshen.
View the project map here.
SIZE & ACRES
Approximately 873 acres have been secured, with 700 acres inside the project fence, and solar equipment will cover less than 490 acres.
INTERCONNECTION
The project will connect to the regional power grid (PJM) at a new substation located near the intersection of two existing overhead transmission lines within the northern portion of the project area. While a utility or large energy user will purchase the output of the solar facility, the energy itself will flow to the nearest energy users – nearby businesses
and homes.
ELKHART COUNTY SOLAR PROJECT
Elkhart County Solar Project, LLC is proposing a 100 megawatt (MW) solar energy facility in Elkhart County, IN. We are excited to be working in partnership with county officials and landowners to bring a generator of clean, homegrown solar energy to Elkhart County. The total output of a 100 MW project is equal to the power used by approximately 18,900 Indiana homes each year.
Solar Project Benefits & Impacts
Benefits of a Solar Project
A solar project provides a healthy, productive economic development opportunity for local landowners to harvest a stable cash crop–the sun. Benefits include positive impacts to the local economy through tax revenues to local governments and support to other local services. Host communities typically experience economic boosts for local businesses and supply chains and the opportunities for new jobs–primarily during the construction phase.
In addition to being safe and compatible with agricultural and rural residential uses, solar energy facilities exist in harmony with wildlife and the environment. They make good neighbors because they operate almost silently without producing odor or byproducts; or attracting additional traffic.
In the bigger picture, solar energy projects provide an abundant, earth-friendly, sustainable power resource to help stabilize electricity costs. These amazing systems lessen carbon emissions and contribute to the diversification of the nation’s electricity grid.
Solar energy facilities produce direct positive economic impacts by increasing the local tax base and creating stable revenue to fund local schools and other taxing bodies.
In addition to providing a local source of power generation, the project will provide stable tax revenues to Elkhart County, Benton Township, and the Fairfield Community School Corporation. An independent accounting firm estimated that the project will pay nearly $22 million in local taxes over a 35-year project life. These tax revenues will provide a stable base for County revenues no matter what is happening in other industries or the broader economy. The project will not require new County services like utilities or road construction, so it is contributing to the County budget without drawing resources from it. In addition, the project will make about $830,000 in payments to the County when it comes online, which are new revenues to the County above its annual budget to foster economic development.
They also generate indirect positive economic impacts during the construction phase as local businesses (restaurants, gas stations, hotels, stores, and more) and supply chains experience an influx of spending from customers involved in the project's installation.
Local Economic Impact
Project
News &
Events
Sept 19, 2022 - The Elkhart County Commissioners approved a zoning change and economic development agreement for Elkhart Solar Project.
May 16, 2022 - The Elkhart County Board of Commissioners passed an ordinance setting standards to review solar projects.
July 8, 2021 - During the Elkhart County Planning Commission Meeting with a favorable staff recommendation, the Commission voted to recommend to the Board of County Commissioners that the Detailed Planned Unity Development application by Elkhart County Solar Project be approved.
April 28, 2021- View the Elkhart County Solar Project Public Information Meeting from from April 28, 2021, here.
Our Team
