New utility to purchase power from Shelby County solar farm
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Plainfield-based Duke Energy is planning to acquire the power generated from the forthcoming Speedway Solar farm in Shelby County. The utility said the 199 megawatts of energy generated will provide enough electricity to power about 35,000 homes.
Duke said last week it has filed a request with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to approve the power purchase agreement the utility signed with New York-based Ranger Power, which is developing the solar farm.
Speedway Solar is being built on a 1,700-acre plot of land south of Gwynneville, Indiana. Construction began in March, and the facility is expected to begin commercial operation by September 2025.
If Duke Energy’s request is approved, the energy generated at Speedway Solar will be sold to the utility for 20 years.
“The emission-free solar power that this new facility generates will help us continue to diversify our generation resources and make meaningful progress toward a cleaner energy future,” Duke Energy Indiana Stan Pinegar said in a news release.
Plans for Speedway Solar date back to at least 2018. In December of that year, Ranger Power said Indianapolis-based Wabash Valley Power Association had committed to purchasing the power generated by the farm.
The company did not say what changes were made that led to Duke Energy signing a power purchase agreement instead. Inside INdiana Business made multiple requests for more information, but did not receive a response.
The power purchase agreement with Duke is part of the utility’s plan to add more than 2,200 megawatts of solar power through its most recent Indiana Integrated Resource Plan.