First Solar has been selected by Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana to build a 50MW solar farm in the US state.
The project will comprise 150,000 panels on a single-axis tracking system spread across 121 hectares.
Development of the facility is dependent on authorisation by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. The regulator is expected to make a decision in the first half 2019.
Construction of a substation to interconnect with Vectren’s power grid will start as soon as regulatory approval is achieved. Work on the solar array will begin in mid-late 2019.
Up to 250 jobs will be created during the construction phase, with the project scheduled to come online in the third quarter of 2020.
Vectren has also been working with Orion Renewable Power Resources, a joint venture between Orion Renewable Energy Group and MAP Renewable Energy, on the development of the project.
Vectren president and chief executive Carl Chapman said: “We are confident First Solar and Orion are the right partners for this scale of a project, which will bring one of the largest single-sited solar farms in the Midwest to southern Indiana.”
Image: First Solar
First Solar shines in Indiana
By EBS