Invenergy details Tamarack Solar Project in Burr Oak at commissioners meeting

Ethan Sternberg, a representative from the Tamarack Solar Project in Burr Oak presented background on Invenergy and information on the project during the County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. 

Invenergy is a leading, privately held sustainable energy company that has been in operation for nearly 25 years.  They have completed 53 solar projects and are experienced in wind power, energy storage, offshore wind, natural gas, transmission line projects, clean water and hydrogen projects.    The Hardy Hill solar project was just completed in Clinton County, and they are under construction in Sullivan County with Fairbanks Solar with several more planned in Indiana including the Tamarack project in Marshall County.   

A map shows why Marshall County was chosen for the Tamarack Solar Project.  The county is at the intersection of two different regional grid operators, the PGM grid that extends to the east and the miso grid that extends out to the west. This creates a lot of different infrastructure the bisects the county including several different lines that have a confluence near the Burr Oak substation.  Marshall County also has a consistent solar resource while northern Indiana isn’t the sunniest, it is consistent, predictable and the fuel to create a reliable source of electricity is free. A solar panel has been gathering data for Invenergy for a couple of years.   

Another reason Invenergy selected Marshall County is because there are landowners interested in hosting them on their property.  Voluntary lease agreements have been signed with about 12 different farm families that want to diversify their farming operations or into retirement. 

The Tamarack Solar project has been in planning stages since 2020.  The speaker, Ethan Sternberg, shared some of the benefits of the project.  The project is 150 megawatts, enough power for nearly 30,000 homes using solar photovoltaic technology where the panels themselves are bifacial absorbing sunlight on the backside as well as the frontside. They will be on a tracker that follows the sun throughout the day allowing Invenergy to maximize the energy production from the facility.  

This project is roughly 1,400 acres within the fenced in area involving 12 farming families in Marshall County.  More ground has been leased because of different constraints including wetlands, floodplains and setbacks set by the county.  Invenergy has already invested nearly $1.5 million to date on this project including landowner payments, environmental, engineering, and transmission studies based on the county’s ordinance.  

During construction of the Tamarack Solar Project, it is expected that 175 jobs will be created locally at the peak of construction.  Invenergy plans to be involved in the community with support for local education through 4-H and or the local schools, emergency services and environmental stewardship hoping to do some work with the Yellow River.    

This project will help to diversify the Marshall County economy with roughly a quarter of a billion-dollar investment assessed locally in the county paying over $40 million in property taxes and over $60 million in landowner payments in the county.  

Sternberg said, “Invenergy is a developer, constructor, and owner operator of these types of facilities, so we have a long-term owner's mindset as we develop and build these types of projects.”  

Invenergy's development philosophy is to enter into several different agreements including a Road Use Plan, along with Decommissioning and Economic Agreements.        

The Road Use Plan details which roads will be used during construction and Invenergy will bring those roads back to the same or better condition that they were before the project. The Decommissioning Agreement is in place for the unlikely event that Invenergy doesn’t complete the project, and something happens.  There are funds in place so the project could be properly decommissioned, and the ground restored to farming conditions.  Invenergy currently has 80 different decommissioning agreements outstanding with various authorities across the country and never has one been called upon.  Sternberg said it’s for that worst case scenario.   

There is also an Economic Development Agreement under consideration that will provide some local control over the taxes the project will be paying.  They will not be seeking a tax abatement now but want to work with the commissioner on how the assessed value will work.  

Invenergy wants to be part of the community and will provide the presentation presented during the meeting to anyone.  They also stayed around after the meeting to speak with citizens.