Commissioners get a lesson on electricity

ALBION — Most people turn on the electrical switch and don’t think much about it when the light comes on.

The only time you raise eyebrows is when it doesn’t work.

During Monday afternoon’s session, Noble County commissioners received a full description of the power grid system from an expert – where it comes from and how it all works.

At the request of Noble County Commissioners President Gary Leatherman, Noble REMC General Manager Ron Raypole gave a presentation on all things electrical.

Commissioner Gary Timmerman raised the idea of including some provision in a rewrite of the county’s solar ordinance specifying where electricity generated locally by a commercial solar installation will be used.

Commissioners asked District Attorney Dennis Graft to consult with other attorneys about the legality of such a provision. That attorney asked for more time to investigate the issue, Commissioner Anita Hess said.

That left open the question of where the electricity generated in Noble County would go.

Answer? Well, it’s hard to say.

In November 2021, Noble County Commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance setting out the basic rules and regulations for installing commercial solar fields in rural areas.

The creation of the zoning ordinance was prompted by state efforts to establish a statewide zoning law addressing this issue. Noble County officials wanted to have their own ordinance on the books before that happened.

The issue is also timely because Geenex, a North Carolina-based company, is contacting landowners in Noble County and offering $900 per acre for a long-term lease, with an average price of $1,200 per acre, to develop a large solar field in north-eastern part of the country. central Noble County.

The Geenex project is rumored to cover an area of 2,000 to 3,000 acres in north-central Noble County, encompassing an area bordered approximately on the north by the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks, on the east by the Cobblestone Golf Course, on the south by CR 400N, and to the west, just west of SR 9.

Over a larger area, the project would produce approximately 300 megawatts per year.

On May 13, commissioners agreed to reopen some details of the ordinance, including considering Timmerman’s provision and possibly reconsidering setbacks (distance between solar fields and property lines).

To date, no one has asked the Noble County Planning Department for permission to begin the formal process.

The proposed solar facility said to be under consideration by Geenex would be located near a large power line running through Brimfield and south to Fort Wayne.

It appears that when connected to a large power line, some of the electricity generated by the proposed solar facility will indeed flow back to Noble County after being redirected through a large substation in northern Allen County, as a map provided by Raypole seemed to indicate.

However, he pointed out that electricity, unlike waterworks, flows in both directions. It all depends on where the need is at a given time. Needs are determined by a large network that covers most of Indiana and extends to the East Coast.

According to Raypole Noble, REMC draws energy from a variety of sources, including coal-fired power plants, natural gas plants and the Cook nuclear power plant in Bridgman, Michigan. Some renewable energy has been added to the mix.

In 2022, renewable energy provided 12% of total electricity generation on the state’s grid, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“We need all of this,” Raypole said of the need for different sources. “We can’t have just one.”

Raypole said he was not at the meeting to share his personal opinions on being pro- or anti-solar.

“I’m just here to educate,” Raypole said.

At Monday morning’s meeting, commissioners approved a rezoning of approximately 64 acres in Elkhart Parish from A1 to A3 to allow for the creation of an indoor feeding facility.

In late January, commissioners approved a similar application for Wysong Farms, but the company chose a new location for its facility.

Noble County commissioners followed their own Unified Development Ordinance – and a favorable recommendation from the Noble County Plan Commission – by approving a January rezoning of a 60-acre parcel in Orange Township to allow for the construction of an enclosed feeding facility.

The enclosed feedlot will house 4,000 to 5,000 young pigs and was to be built on vacant land on CR 600N, between SR 9 and CR 100E.

The new rezoning will allow Wysong Farms to build a CAFO operation on a parcel of land east of 7855 NCR 450W.