Scottsburg Solar Park Under Construction
The construction of a solar park along I-65 in the southwest corner of the City of Scottsburg is underway on a 43 acre parcel of land. When completed there will be around 36 acres of solar panels, making the Scott County power producer one of the larger solar parks in the state, said Scottsburg Mayor William Graham.
The Indiana Municipal Power Agency, (IMPA) will be constructing and generating the wholesale electricity for the city.
“Electricity generated from almost 25,000 solar panels will be directed into the Scottsburg Electric Utility distribution system for use by Scottsburg electric customers,” Graham said. Construction is expected to take about 8 months with the solar park generating and distributing electricity in the spring of 2020.
The Scottsburg City Administration has worked with IMPA over the past several months to bring this major construction project to Scottsburg.
Graham said there will be several benefits to the citizens of Scottsburg and Scott County from construction of this solar park including use of green energy by the city’s electric customers, creation of approximately 25 temporary construction jobs during the construction phase of the project, and taking Scottsburg to the forefront of producing green energy in the State of Indiana.
Based on the IMPA investment, around $12.1 million will be added to the local tax base as a result of the solar park project. It is anticipated that over $400,000 will be paid in taxes by IMPA during the next 10 years, said the mayor.
IMPA began operations in 1983 and now provides wholesale power to 61 municipal electric utilities, including Scottsburg, which was a founding member of IMPA.
Mayor Graham presently serves on the Board of Directors of IMPA and assists IMPA in carrying out its mission of providing low cost, reliable, and an environmentally responsible power supply to municipal electric utilities, such as Scottsburg.