City of Rensselaer celebrates second solar park

10/10/2018

City of Rensselaer celebrates second solar park

RENSSELAER, IN – Representatives from Rensselaer and the Indiana Municipal Power Agency cut the ribbon on Tuesday for the second solar park in the community.  Mayor Stephen Wood, Senator Brian Buchanan, Representative Doug Gutwein as well as representatives from the offices of Senator Joe Donnelly and Congressman Todd Rokita were on hand to recognize the milestone in the community.  They joined with members of the City Council and Board of Public Works as well as city department officials and Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) President and CEO Raj Rao to celebrate the addition of the renewable energy source in the city.  Rensselaer is one of 17 IMPA member communities to have a solar park. The first solar park in the community, located on East Maple Street, was completed in 2014.

“Rensselaer is one of the founding members of IMPA, and we were one of the first three IMPA members to have a solar park constructed in 2014,” commented Mayor Wood.  “When the opportunity arose to add a second solar park, we welcomed the chance to not only broaden the generation resources in our community, but to bolster economic development and provide further educational opportunities for our community.” 

 “Since IMPA’s humble beginnings in 1983, Rensselaer has always been a valued ally and staunch supporter of our ongoing efforts to provide low-cost, reliable, environmentally-responsible electricity to Indiana’s municipal electric communities,” commented Raj Rao, IMPA President and CEO.  "The output of the Rensselaer 2 Solar Park enables us to continue expanding our diverse portfolio through the addition of solar energy.  We are certain that the park will have a lasting impact on the community.”

The new Rensselaer 2 Solar Park is four times the size of the previous park in Rensselaer.  The Rensselaer 2 park is located on 25 acres of land and is comprised of 13,891 solar panels.  The park is equipped with a single axis tracking system, which means the solar panels are able to move, tracking the sun throughout the day.  The facility is rated at 3.84 MW and will produce an annual amount of energy to power over 500 homes. 

Other IMPA communities in which solar parks have been built include Anderson, Argos, Bainbridge, Crawfordsville, Flora, Frankton, Greenfield, Huntingburg, Pendleton, Peru, Rensselaer, Richmond, Spiceland, Tell City, Washington and Waynetown.  IMPA is currently constructing additional solar parks in Advance, Richmond and Tipton.

 

The Indiana Municipal Power Agency is the not-for-profit wholesale power provider to 61 cities and towns in Indiana and Ohio who own and operate the municipal electric distribution systems in their communities. IMPA member communities deliver electric service to approximately 330,000 individuals throughout the state.  For more information, visit www.IMPA.com.