LWV Report From Solar Meeting

The day before the Montgomery County planning meeting, my father had solar panels installed on his house – something that seemed improbable six months ago. He had previously debated electrification and was skeptical of Priuses until he had to commute six hours to work each week.

When I heard he was going solar, he cited calculations showing he would have a net gain even without tax breaks, which he opposes.

He’s like many pro-Trump locals who have installed solar arrays; it just makes economic sense.

Solar energy didn’t used to be polarizing. It was a good use of money and land, so listening to the testimonies at the Copper Box Commission Meeting on Tuesday, March 10, highlighted the anxieties and concerns raised against solar farms in the county.

Fire Risk

Concerns about peat fires and volunteer departments facing runaway blazes resonate emotionally, especially for those who remember actual soil fires. However, Indiana’s existing 119 solar farms have not experienced any fire disasters. “Have you ever tried to light a window on fire?” asked a local farmer.

The solar panels are made of glass, silicon and aluminum, which do not readily burn. Fire risk is mainly in wiring, inverters or transformers placed for access. The risk is similar to traditional electrical transmission, and the developer commits to annual training with local departments plus site design for quick equipment access. As one solar builder and local volunteer firefighter noted, we have “more of a problem at Shades Park with down timber for fire than anything else” in the county.

Land Never Going Back to Agriculture

Several speakers framed solar projects as “a total loss of good agricultural land” that can “never be reclaimed,” referencing peat fires that sterilize soil for decades. Yet, the project is a 30-year lease, not a sale, and the developer must post a full decommissioning bond to restore the land at the end of its useful life. The company’s vegetation expert described a site-wide perennial cover designed to build organic matter, enhance infiltration, fix nitrogen – benefits that farmers should appreciate – and dramatically reduce the use of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides across the site.

The Company Will Sell and Walk Away

It’s easy to imagine a distant boardroom flipping projects like stocks, especially after past experiences with other industries. However, the developer emphasized its core philosophy to be an owner-operator, not a project flipper, intending to own and run Copper Box for its full 30-year life.

While trust in business is low, decommissioning does not rely on corporate goodwill: the ordinance requires a bond covering the removal cost to be posted at the start of construction and to follow the project throughout its lifespan. Even if the project is sold, that financial backstop remains, ensuring the county isn’t left with an orphaned facility.

Harm to Birds, Insects and Wildlife

Concerns about cranes and other birds disappearing from a nearby 80-acre bird sanctuary that hosts 247 species raise alarms. However, local ecologists and biologists pointed to evidence that native plantings under solar arrays reduce erosion and pesticide runoff while improving habitat for insects and birds. A conservation professional hired for this project described a custom seed mix to boost pollinators, soil health, and water quality, while a beekeeper noted that 900 acres of diverse forage could significantly help honeybees struggling with chemicals and monocultures. A visitor to another Indiana project reported seeing sandhill cranes foraging comfortably among the panels, and a long-time solar builder stated he consistently observes “more bugs and birds than ever before.”

Glyphosate and Other Chemicals

The word “glyphosate” understandably triggers concern because of its links to cancer and poor water quality. Glyphosate is among the chemicals many conventional farmers already use in much larger quantities on intensively tilled fields.

This project aims to establish a dense perennial cover within two to three years, using spot treatments for weed pressure rather than broadcast spraying. The developer collaborates with vegetation consultants and employs local contractors for seeding and management, keeping agronomic decisions close to those who live with the land.

Noise and Visual Blight

People worry about aesthetics. The solar panels, which are about as tall as mature cornstalks, generate no sound. The nearby Pleasant Meadows subdivision and the Boys and Girls Club experience no disturbance.

Copper Box is designed with more than 500 feet of setbacks from homes. Third-party appraisers studying similar Indiana projects found no negative impact on nearby property values, aligning with the county staff report.

Blocking Future Development

Opponents argue that once 900 to 1,800 acres are covered, the county has closed the door on neighborhoods and businesses. However, the temporary nature of solar distinguishes it from permanent development; there is minimal concrete, no sewered subdivisions and no long-lived foundations to remove when use changes. At the end of the lease, the ground can easily be returned to its original state. In other states, large solar projects have been built adjacent to new home construction, suggesting that proximity to panels does not hinder development.

Power Exported Out of State, Not Filling the “15% Gap”

It’s easy to resent local land serving big-city customers while Montgomery County sees no energy benefits. Yet Indiana is a net importer of electricity, bringing in about 15 percent of its power from other states, and Copper Box connects directly to a Duke Energy transmission line feeding the Crawfordsville substation. This project contributes to regional reliability and helps close the state’s overall deficit, supporting the grid for local homes and businesses. More generation close to load reduces Indiana’s dependence on distant fossil-fuel plants and volatile global supply shocks.

Heavy Metals Leaching into Soil and Water

Concerns about cadmium and contamination speak to another fear. However, the planned panels consist mostly of silicon, glass, and aluminum, which are “non-toxic in nature,” with no liquid to leak. While multiple speakers worried about high water tables and well contamination, no one could cite actual cases of heavy-metal pollution from modern silicon-based solar projects in Indiana, despite 4.2 gigawatts already operating in the state. In contrast, current row-crop systems regularly send fertilizers, pesticides and sediment into waterways – harms that the perennial ground cover is intended to reduce.

Soft Soils and Peat

The history of peat burning on this site is real and understandably unnerving. However, the developer has conducted geotechnical studies and committed to avoiding “the areas with the softest soils,” using new racking that follows the terrain to reduce grading significantly. One Indiana project of similar size cut grading needs from 500 acres to about 30 using this approach, preserving topsoil rather than scraping it away. The company also stated that panels will not be placed on muck soils identified in the maps, addressing the worst-case fire scenario.

“We’re Not Ready for Renewables – If They Worked, Oil Companies Would Have Switched.”

This quote captures broad cultural skepticism, not just local concerns.

However, utilities, manufacturers and even some oil majors are investing in solar because it is now one of the cheapest forms of new electricity at scale. Indiana’s energy task force, created by the governor, is working from the premise that the state must pursue an “all-of-the-above” strategy to meet rapidly rising demand and that Indiana is already an “energy deficit” importer.

When skeptics point to EV disappointments or policy shifts, they highlight the messiness of transition, not evidence that new technology cannot work; every major farming change – from tractors to hybrid seeds – faced backlash and uneven adoption before becoming normal.

Would You Rethink?

In facing unknowns, it’s natural to resort to “what ifs.” Fears are legitimate warning signals. In response, we must test them against evidence and remember that humans often prioritize fitting in and interpersonal connections.

What did you hear? Would you rethink your stance? What would convince you? Like my father, nearing 70, we balance logic and concern. When it benefits us, we often shift our mindsets.

Any company seeking to impact our community should build in local control and safeguards to ease concerns.

This company did.

Our county will face a significant shortfall after last year’s Senate Bill 1. We may want to weigh the value of tax dollar inflows and request our county distribute them to emergency services, roads and other rural projects.

What some of us heard: Bonds for decommissioning, written fire-training commitments, drainage reviews and clear setback rules are not just technicalities; they are concrete ways of expressing: “We expect things to go right, but we’ve planned for if they don’t.”

An honest column about Copper Box can acknowledge that some opposition stems from love of the land and a lifetime of watching bad deals in rural America. It can also ask: when our worries outpace the evidence from projects already in place, are we protecting Montgomery County – or allowing fear of the unknown to close off a tool that could strengthen farms, county budgets, wildlife habitat, and the grid our future generations will depend on?

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, multi-issue political organization which encourages informed and active participation in government. For information about the League, visit the website www.lwvmontcoin.org; or, visit the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, Indiana Facebook page.