The Michigan Public Service Commission approved a certificate of public necessity to Indiana Michigan Power Company, giving them the green light to construct a 245-megawatt solar energy array, or solar farm. This facility will be built in Blackford County, Indiana, and is expected to provide power to over 73,000 homes.
The cost to build the solar farm, known as the Lake Trout site, is expected to run upwards of $532 million dollars. Regulators with the MPSC say they believe the size and design of the future facility would be the best way to meet the demands of the power company’s customers.
The Lake Trout site will be the largest of four solar arrays the Indiana Michigan Power Company plans on building in the coming years. Currently, the utility company provides electricity to over 130,000 customers in six counties in southwest Michigan, as well as Indiana.
Construction on the site is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2024. The MPSC also approved several other solar contracts for I & M earlier this year as part of the utility’s first integrated resource plan with Michigan to produce new carbon-free power and cover the 750 megawatt capacity gap.
