Wabash Valley Power partnered with member cooperatives, including Noble REMC, on an expansion of the Co-op Solar program. The solar array in LaOtto, Ind., was dedicated in June 2019, which generated interested from numerous local media outlets. Fox-55 and WANE in Fort Wayne reported on the dedication, as did several newspapers. See some of the coverage below.
From The News Sun & The Herald Republican:
Talk about a good day to generate some solar energy.
With the sun blazing overhead on a hot Wednesday morning, representatives from Wabash Valley Power, Noble REMC and other electric cooperatives officially dedicated the 1-megawatt LaOtto Solar Generating Station.
Located just off the east side of S.R. 3 on C.R. 70 in DeKalb County, the solar array started under construction in December and was completed shortly after. It took a few months to connect panels to the electrical grid and prep to begin generating energy, with the solar field switched on and collecting energy starting in April.
On Wednesday morning, representatives from electric providers, state lawmakers and others gathered to celebrate completion of the project and talk about the impact it will have for energy customers.
The project was built by Wabash Valley Power, a nonprofit whole power producer that provides energy to numerous utilities. The solar field however is hooked into Noble REMC’s infrastructure and is able to be distributed across the region to customers who would like to purchase green energy through a co-op solar program. Users can purchase 300-watt solar “blocks” as part of their monthly electric consumption.
Andrew Horstman, manager of load response for Wabash Valley Power and emcee for the event, noted the LaOtto facility is Wabash Valley’s largest at this point. The cooperative has five others in Indiana, one in Illinois and two in Missouri, with several more arrays in development.
Read the full article here.