Letter to the Editor
Letter to the Editor,
In a February 1908 letter to the editor of the New York Times titled “The Horseless Carriage Means Trouble,” retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice H. B. Brown, who was ironically a native of Detroit, Michigan, questioned whether “the automobile is a mere whim of fashion,” and lamented that driving an automobile deprived one of the “companionship of the horse.” Justice Brown was a highly educated man and respected jurist, but he was behind the times and misjudged the importance of the automobile to the future development of his hometown and of the country.
It is regrettable that in 2023 we find ourselves at a similar crossroads with regard to commercial solar power in Marshall County. Commercial solar energy is not a pipedream; it is a reality and has been for nearly half a century. NIPSCO has committed to eliminate its coal fired plants by 2028. The Northwest Indiana Times reports that when completed the $1.5 billion solar project underway in Starke and Pulaski Counties will generate enough electricity to power more than 1 million homes, create hundreds of jobs, and generate millions in tax revenue for those counties. Contrary to some social media and public comments about this project, only about 20% of the land being leased will actually have solar panels. The rest will continue to be used for agriculture.
The current Marshall County solar ordinance, which some in our county now want to undo, can be traced to 2019, when the County Commissioners placed a moratorium of large scale solar until meaningful public and expert input could take place. Over the next two years, state planners, which included the current #2 person at EPA, along with county, regional and national planning professionals, scientists, and the general public participated in a series of workshops and public hearings. Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute then drafted a model state solar zoning ordinance, other solar ordinances were considered, and the Commissioners adopted the current ordinance in 2021.
Opponents of commercial solar now want to substitute their judgment on solar for that of the Commissioners, the scores of property owners who have signed leases, the dozen plus Federal and Indiana agencies that regulate solar and the operators of more than 50 commercial solar installations already in Marshall County that power everything from businesses to schools, to the Plymouth water treatment plan. Regrettably, the Culver Town Council voted last month after a single Council meeting to suspend Culver’s commercial solar ordinance. To the extent that action has any legal effect, it’s impact will fall almost exclusively on the Town’s three largest employers, Cabinet Works, Culver Community Schools, and Culver Academies.
The number of Facebook posts or how many people can pack a public meeting is a poor way to make public policy, and a potentially expensive one. So is changing the rules in the middle of a game. We believe the Culver Town Council’s action was ill informed and not in the best interests of our community. We urge the Commissioners to stand firm and not suspend the County’s solar ordinance.
-Don Fox and Chris Kline