Solar project begins commercial operations in Pike Township

Photo courtesy of Mitchell Multimedia
Guest speakers at Savion LLC’s Power Up event, held to celebrate the commercial start of operations of the Madison Fields Solar Project in Pike Township, included (from left) Scott Zeimetz, chief development officer, Savion; JC Sandberg, director of advocacy, American Clean Power Association; Glenn Wright, senior vice president, Shell Energy Americas; and Merle Madrid, director of public policy, Amazon Web Services.

(Published July 16, 2024)

Savion LLC, a portfolio company of Shell Group, announced the start of commercial operations of the Madison Fields Solar Project in Pike Township, Madison County, on July 11. The 180-megawatt solar project is the first Savion project to be designed, developed, built and owned by the company.

Savion also announced that Amazon has entered into a long-term power purchase agreement with Madison Fields to acquire the full 180 megawatts of solar energy generated by the facility. The project is jointly owned by Savion and funds managed by InfraRed Capital Partners, with Shell serving as the project’s asset manager. Over the next 35 to 40 years, Madison Fields is expected to produce enough energy to power about 38,000 Ohio homes per year.

“The commencement of commercial operations of the Madison Fields Solar Project demonstrates Savion’s and Shell’s commitment to integrated value and providing access to green electronics to deliver products and services to customers, such as Amazon support,” said Nick Lincon, president of Savion.

“We are celebrating not only the launch of Savion’s first completed and owned project, but also how it contributes to our diverse renewable energy development work in the United States, now with more than 1.8 gigawatts in operation, under contract and under construction.”

Photo courtesy of Savion
**The Madison Fields Solar Project, located in Pike Township, is one of the first utility-scale solar farms to intentionally integrate soybean, alfalfa and forage crops.**

Madison Fields is also one of the first utility-scale solar installations to intentionally integrate feed crop production into the system. Savion’s wholly owned subsidiary, Between the Rows, is dedicated to a concept called agrivoltaics, which puts agriculture first, with resourceful land management and dual-use practices.

This effort to “think like farmers” in all phases of industrial-scale projects, including development, construction, operation and decommissioning, led to a partnership with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State University. The collaboration includes active testing and cultivation of forage crops, including hay and alfalfa, as well as soil health, precision agriculture and supplemental grazing between rows of solar panels.

Savion began work on the Madison Fields Solar Project in early 2018. The Ohio Power Siting Board issued approval for the project in January 2021. Construction began in December 2022 and is scheduled to be completed in December 2023. The project includes 400,000 bifacial solar panels on 1,696 acres.

Nine neighboring homes are participating in Savion’s solar program. This is Savion’s second utility-scale solar project, which will provide neighboring homes with the opportunity to install solar panels on their roofs and ground on their properties. Savion is working with installer OGW Energy Resources on the program.