By HOLLY GASKILL
Immense public opposition prompted the rejection of a zoning petition from Paddlefish Solar in March, effectively stopping the project from moving forward.
Since then, the Wells County Council unanimously approved a moratorium on property tax abatements, explicitly hoping to dissuade future projects.
“It’d be safe to speculate that there isn’t a path forward,” Area Plan Commission Executive Director Mike Lautzenheiser said. “Because why would one project get approved differently than another?
Even so, it doesn’t appear to have discouraged Paddlefish or the multiple other companies with recorded land leases. “Paddlefish is trying to gear up to better explain their project — the other ones (solar companies) are trying to gear up to show why they’re different than Paddlefish,” Lautzenheiser said.
Lautzenheiser referred to it as a “gold rush” of sorts. The area can accommodate two industrial solar developments, Lautzenheiser said. The first company there will likely reap the largest profits, with potentially fewer costs associated with upgrading substations.
“And part of it is, that if there is no demand after the first project, then the rest of the projects go away,” Lautzenheiser said.
Solar panels are currently seen as the most cost-effective way to produce electricity as there continues to be a growing need for energy, Lautzenheiser explained. Indiana also has the grid capacity for increased energy production, as well as the relatively flat land and temperate climate desired for industrial solar production.
Currently, five companies have submitted leases to the Recorder’s Office — ACE Development Company, Chester Solar Energy, Clean Footprint, Lightsource Renewable Energy Development and Paddlefish Solar. Most of these companies are a known subsidiary of a larger company — ACE is reportedly owned by AES Solar, Chester and Lightsource by BP, and Paddlefish by EDF Renewables.
Paddlefish is considered the furthest along in the process of development, having reached agreements for economic development, tax abatements, road use and project decommissioning. The project sought an overlay district for its over 3,000 acres in Wells and Huntington counties in March, which received a unanimous “do not pass” recommendation from the APC. The request was “withdrawn” by Paddlefish before the commissioners voted on the matter, but was officially rejected after the consideration window closed.
On Sept. 5, representatives from Paddlefish approached the Wells County APC with digital renderings of the project and said they would soon present a new zoning petition. Trena Roudebush, director of community relations, later told The News-Banner the timing for the resubmission was “fluid.”
“We’ve been working hard over the past several months to meet with project neighbors, as well as members of the broader Wells and Huntington County communities to listen to questions, address concerns and enhance our forthcoming application to reflect input as we are able,” said Roudebush.
Furthermore, Lautzenheiser and the APC have been tracking solar leases through the Wells County Recorder’s Office, but it isn’t a true representation of the number of land leases secured for solar energy development. At the time, Lautzenheiser said the most recent lease was from Paddlefish, initially signed two years ago.
Lautzenheiser also said he’s aware of at least two other companies approaching land owners in southeast and northwest Wells County.
“I mean, their (solar companies’) biggest thing is they have a signed lease,” Lautzenheiser said. “The memorialization of it? It’s only really important when they start going through processes like public processes, then they do all that stuff to prove that they complied.”
Regulation of renewable energy development is also a local decision, but the Indiana General Assembly has previously considered establishing state guidelines. In 2021, Edmond Soliday (R-Valparaiso) authored House Bill 1381 for statewide standards for renewable energy, which ultimately died on the Senate floor after significant pushback. Bill sponsor Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper) told The Indianapolis Star that handling the bill was like a “hostage negotiation with a schizophrenic.”
Even so, the Indiana legislature did adopt a list of voluntary guidelines that communities can adopt regarding renewable energy in 2023.
From Lautzenheiser’s perspective, Paddlefish is the front-runner in the rush, but ACE and Chester may not be far from their own zoning applications. Although solar companies are unable to pursue local tax abatements, they may still approach the county with an economic development agreement, road use and decommissioning agreements, zoning for electrical development, and development proposals — all of which are extensive processes.
Since public opposition to solar increased exponentially earlier this year, no county officials have spoken publicly in favor of any utility-scale solar development.
Lautzenheiser concluded, “I would say that 2025 is probably going to be the pivotal year whether or not stuff happens here (in Wells County).”
holly@news-banner.com
