Hardy Hills Solar Project near Kilmore north of Frankfort is in full construction mode and driving 800 posts a day now. The 195 Megawatt project at peak capacity will contribute enough electricity to serve almost 37,000 homes when completed. The building of the solar array will be a 14 month process that started July 2022.
The site is buzzing with activity as two substations, 1400 acres of solar panels, access roads and street cleaners operate around the site. One substation will be operated by the Hardy Hills project and the other substation will be operated by Duke Energy.
Every morning at about 8 AM the rapid “rat..tat…tat” of driving 800 posts or “Piles” into the ground can be heard for miles around. One advantage of the pile system is no concrete is used to construct most parts of the solar array, insuring much less disruption of the soil and easier removal to restore the land to agricultural uses after 25 or 50 years if desired. The current contract is for 25 years renewable for a second 25 year period.
Liz Stitzel, Clinton County Area Plan Commission director, spoke Thursday evening to the Frankfort Rotary Club at Arborwood. Stitzel laid out the history of the project from conception to approval to current progress. WILO AM-FM and Hoosierland TV played a role in the approval process during the worst part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Questions for one meeting were taken from drive-by cars at the Edward Jones Building at the fairgrounds. “Attendees” were listening to the proceedings on their car radios while the entire public meeting was also broadcast on Hoosierland TV, which never has a paywall, so anyone who wanted to watch or listen on the radio could “attend” the meeting and text questions to the panel. These two meetings are still viewable on Hoosierland TV. Just enter “Solar” in the search bar to view.
The land use for the project totals 1800 acres surrounding the small town of Kilmore 5.4 miles north of Frankfort just off Indiana 75. The actual array will consume 1400 acres and each solar field will be surrounded by a buffer area comprised of a 10 foot tall deer fence, trees, bushes, evergreen and pollinator friendly plants. The view of the solar arrays from the road will be limited by the plant growth in the buffer zone surrounding the array. The demand for these buffer zone trees is so great that orders are exhausting supplies of hardwood trees, bushes and evergreen plants for well over a 100 mile radius.
The 300 Million dollar project is employing a labor force through the end of 2023. There will then continue to be a few permanent local workers employed after the construction is completed in late 2023.
195 Megawatts is enough power to energize almost 37,000 homes or light up 2 million 100 watt light bulbs. Energy will likely stay in the state of Indiana, according to Stitzel, since Indianapolis Light and Power will run the site.
No trees larger than 3 inches in diameter are to be removed in the 1800 acres without written permission from the Area Plan Commission or County Commissioners.
The property tax dollars from this project will offset the almost $1,000,000 per year Clinton County was bringing in from the former Clinton County Hospital building at the St. Vincent Hospital on South Jackson street. Those annual Hospital building lease funds are no longer received by the County.
