Solar panels, also known as photovoltaic modules (PV modules), work by turning sunlight into direct current (DC) electricity. These panels are supported by some type of racking structure that can be fixed, or it may rotate on an axis. Solar panels are paired with inverters that convert the DC electricity into a more useable form of electricity known as alternating current (AC.) The AC electricity then passes through a transformer to ensure that the power is the appropriate voltage before it is sent to the electric grid.  

The power produced from a utility-scale solar project installation is injected directly into the electric grid at the project’s “Point of Interconnection”. This injection will be into LGE&KU’s transmission line. Since electricity travels along the path of least resistance this generated and injected electricity will be consumed in the local neighborhood that serves your house or business.

The power produced by the Rhudes Creek Solar project will likely be used right here in Hardin County. Since electricity travels along the least resistance path, it is consumed in the locality of where it is injected. Being located close to solar generation means more reliable and economical electric service for nearby homes and businesses and increased stability for the regional grid. Rhudes Creek already has a power purchase agreement in place with Louisville Gas and Electric to purchase the power thus ensuring that it serves the customers of LGE&KU. Energy market are separate from how electricity flows. Electricity is always consumed as electrically close to its point of injection. Purchasing of energy from a generator does not ensure that electrons from that generator flow to the purchaser but it just ensures that the payment of energy is provided by the purchaser even though the electrons may be coming from another generator.

Solar projects have life spans of approximately 30-40 years (or longer) until the panels are no longer efficient. At iBV Energy Partners, we fully expect our utility- scale solar projects to have the capability of producing electricity efficiently for more than 35 years. With the underlying land secured, the project will be able to be upgraded or re-powered over the course of operation with new more efficient equipment, extending the life and improving efficiency.

When the solar facility is no longer efficient, the system will be decommissioned and the equipment removed, recycling everything that can be, and returning the land to the condition in which it existed prior to the installation of the solar project.
Solar has a minimal impact on the land, unlike fossil fuel power plants. When the project is removed, the land is returned to essentially its original state. Many landowners see leasing land for utility-scale solar projects as a form of land banking, as it has minimal long term impact on the value of the land.

There are lots of protections in place to make sure projects will be decommissioned at the end of their useful lives. Lease agreements and county solar ordinances will specify a developer’s responsibility for decommissioning projects and returning land to its prior use.
At iBV Energy Partners, our lease agreements have a specific clause addressing that it is our responsibility to remove all equipment and return the land back to its previous state. In addition, we will be working with the county on a decommissioning agreement that will spell out the requirements for when a project must be decommissioned.

Solar farms are constantly monitored and receive regular maintenance by professional technicians to make sure they are operating well. Project owners who invest in solar projects have a business interest in keeping them operating properly. In addition, a power purchase agreement is typically for 20 years and provides a long-term customer who is guaranteed to purchase the power.

Solar panels do not produce noise, but the inverters that change the current of electricity from DC to AC do produce a slight hum. Sound produced at the solar facility is similar to the ambient noise outside and dissipates at the property boundary. Solar projects are considered quiet neighbors.

iBV Energy Partners utilizes the best available Photovoltaic solar (PV) panel technology for all of our utility-scale projects. Glare from solar panels is not a problem because PV solar panels are designed to absorb sunlight, rather than reflect it. These panels are dark in color and are treated with an anti-reflective coating. Solar panels are generally less reflective than windows. The FAA has created standards to assess glare from solar facilities to ensure that they are safe for pilots flying nearby. Using these standards, the FAA has approved solar arrays near several major airports, including Indianapolis Airport.

iBV Energy Partners’ Solar projects are privately funded and are generally located on private land that is leased from the landowners. While solar energy is privately funded, we are not receiving any direct funding from the county. The Federal Investment Tax Credit is currently in place for solar power and is scheduled to be phased out.

iBV Energy Partners works hard to ensure that our projects will not change the look or feel of the community. Solar arrays have a low profile (8-15 feet from grade) and we use setbacks and vegetative buffers to shield the project from view of neighboring homeowners. We see this as part of being a good neighbor. In addition, we are committed to using native grasses and pollinator plants. Solar projects are typically planted with native grasses or wildflowers that improve soil and water quality and can be an important habitat for pollinators such as bees and butterflies, which make nearby farms more productive.

Rhudes Creek Solar project will improve soil and water quality. Storm water management plans are a required part of the solar development process. These plans are prepared by professional engineers to ensure that projects do not contribute to erosion or flooding. The land on a solar farm is not paved and can be covered with native plants that absorb rain and runoff and help recharge groundwater. Once operational, the use of perennial ground cover and elimination of annual tillage, irrigation, and fertilizer (in the case of farmland) allows the soil to absorb water and rejuvenate during the life of the project. A solar project has maximum ground permeability and is much better in terms of stormwater runoff than most other types of development.

Solar panels are safe to touch, attach to your home or install them next to schools, like several have in Hardin County. Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels typically consist of glass, polymer, aluminum, copper and semiconductor materials that can be recovered and recycled at the end of their useful life. 

Solar panel materials are enclosed and don’t mix with water or vaporize into the air, meaning there is no threat of chemicals being released into the environment during normal use. In addition, the panels are manufactured to endure all weather conditions and are sealed shut to further ensure public safety. Almost all solar PV panels are made of tempered glass, pass rigorous hail tests, and are regularly installed in Arctic and Antarctic conditions. The two most common types of solar panels – silicon-based and thin film – are both required to pass the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Leaching Characteristic Procedure (TCLP) test, meaning that these panels are nonhazardous.

Solar farms also utilize steel racks to position panels, electrical cable and a small number of inverters and electric transformers to deliver power to the grid. All of this equipment is safe and contains the same materials that are found in household appliances.

After their useful life, solar panels and equipment are easy to disassemble and recycle. Solar plants are designed to withstand severe weather, and panels are built to last for up to 40 years. If solar panels are damaged, they can be quickly replaced with new ones.

Solar farms do not pose a threat to wildlife. Wildlife studies are an important part of the development process — trained experts study proposed sites to ensure that utility-scale solar development minimizes impact to wildlife. Solar projects can also provide important habitat for birds and pollinators like bees and butterflies.

In most cases, the change in use provides the locality with a new higher tax revenue source. A typical solar project will generate 30 years of steady tax revenue to fund schools and other community services while helping keep taxes low for homeowners. In addition to taxes, solar creates local construction and operations jobs and increased business for local services like hotels and restaurants.

During construction phase, our economic impact study indicates that we will inject $12.5 million into the local economy, with workers spending their money on meals, lodging, entertainment and other local businesses.Additionally, solar projects utilize minimal public infrastructure (water, sewer, police, etc.) relative to commercial or residential development so the cost to the locality is very low. The solar projects also create a small number of long-term jobs for vegetation management and Operations and Maintenance of the facility. Solar projects provide economic growth and increased energy independence for nearby communities.

Solar projects provide economic growth and increased energy independence for nearby communities. Solar power creates these community benefits without the increases in traffic, noise or nuisances that accompany other kinds of development. Last but not least, clean solar power helps us reduce our reliance on fossil fuels which protects human health and fights climate change.

The Rhudes Creek Solar project will contribute to the local tax base. At 100 MW, the project is estimated to generate $2.35 million dollars in tax revenue for Hardin County over the life of the project with $1.48 million going to the Hardin County Schools.

It makes sense that neighbors will want to know if a solar project will affect their property values. The best way to answer this question is to look at data from real estate sales and assessments. Numerous local and national studies have shown that clean energy projects do not reduce nearby property values.

Property valuation experts from CohnReznick have studied the value of properties that adjoin solar farms in Illinois and Indiana and concluded that the solar farms do not adversely affect the property values in either the short or long term.

The study included solar farms in Lasalle and Winnebago Counties in Illinois; as well as Elkhart, Lake, Madison, Marion and Porter Counties in Indiana. Experts analyzed property sale prices and marketability of single family homes and agricultural land that adjoins solar farms and compared this data to comparable properties in the same county. The study also included interviews with county assessors and local real estate professionals, all of whom concluded that solar farms in their area had not impacted property values. Similar research has been conducted in other states across the U.S. and none of these studies have found that solar farms adversely affect nearby property values.

Solar energy production will never displace agriculture’s central role in Kentucky’s economy, landscape and culture. By hosting solar farms on their land, Kentucky farmers can help feed the world and keep the lights on at the same time. Many agricultural producers are interested in diversifying their income by leasing some of their property to solar projects. 

Solar projects are a temporary use of private land that can complement agriculture by helping farmers manage commodity price shifts, make money and protect their way of life. Solar lease agreements include a binding commitment that project owners will return land to its prior use once a project is complete.  

In addition to the project harvesting energy from the sun to produce power, Rhudes Creek Solar and the landowners are committed to planting pollinator plants within the project and hosting a herd of sheep who will allow the property to remain an agricultural use.

According to the US Department of Agriculture Census of Land, there are 202,000 acres of farmland in Hardin County. The Rhudes Creek Solar project plans to lease 1250 acres. This means Rhudes Creek would take less than a half percent of the agricultural land in Hardin County. At the end of the useful life of the project the panels will be removed, and the land returned to its current state, all while protecting the land from future development.

The electric current generated at solar panels is lower than the voltage in a home outlet. Electricity from a solar project travels through buried cables to a transformer, where voltage is increased so that it can feed into the electric grid. All the electric equipment on the site is secured and will not pose a risk to people or animals.

Solar projects do not create electromagnetic fields that could be measured outside a project. Inverters used in solar facilities generate electromagnetic fields that are similar to household appliances, and many times weaker than those created by normal power lines.

PV solar projects are safe and do not use heat to generate electricity. Millions of solar panels have been safely installed on homes and rooftops around the world for decades – including more than 53,000 MW of solar in the US. All solar installations in the US are fully permitted and inspected by relevant local authorities including fire departments, incidents of any kind are extremely rare.

Local officials and planners often restrict solar farms in residential, commercial, and sometimes agricultural zoning districts, limiting their location to industrial districts. Industrial zoning is primarily intended to separate intense land uses, such as factories and distribution centers and their associated pollution, noise, and traffic, from residential areas. However, after construction, solar farms are quiet, clean facilities that generally have no on-site employees.

One local official compared the land use to a cemetery (no living inhabitants), demonstrating that solar farms can be compatible even with residential neighbors.

iBV Energy Partners Solar Expertise

• 1.5 GW Built or under construction
• 30 GW Pipeline of solar power projects
• 340 MW Operations and Maintenance
• 182 MW Plants under asset management
• $242 million Group assets, 2018

No. People have been safely living and working around solar panels for decades. Solar energy emits no pollutants and the overall impact of solar on human health is overwhelmingly positive. In fact, studies have shown health-related air quality benefits from solar energy are worth even more than the electricity itself.¹ 

Modern, photovoltaic (PV) solar panels are made of materials typical of those found in electronic equipment and are encased, so as not to pose a concern for the water supply or public health.

Local Utilities will only purchase generation needed to be able to reliably serve their customers. This is based on what they predict will the most load that they may be required to serve in their region and thus fulfil their capacity need. Hence LGE&KU and EKPC will only purchase the minimal amount to serve the Hardin and Cecilia County reliably. Since this load growth is based on population increase in that area and creation of industries there the amount that the utilities will purchase is just enough to meet that need and no more. 

The generator mix purchased by the utilities is based on the local commission’s portfolio mix. LGE&KU and EKPC hope to fulfil their portfolio mix and capacity need in the next few years.