This and that: Solar fields, subdivisions and SK hynix’s site

A few notes on a Wednesday morning.

• Support for today’s edition comes from Wintek Business Solutions. Jacob Kieta builds business networks with innovation and collaboration at Wintek Business Solutions. He applies his dual expertise in networks and cybersecurity, multiple certifications from Cisco and a dedication to keep your network running and your business thriving. Jacob is one of many local experts you can always count on when you choose Wintek Business Solutions. Learn more about our team at wintekbusiness.com/ourteam and call 765-742-8428 to begin building your solution today!

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This and that on a Wednesday morning …

SOLAR PROJECT PLANS EMERGE IN WESTERN TIPPECANOE COUNTY: A North Carolina-based company will hold an informational meeting Wednesday evening about its plans to build a solar project on 1,200 acres in western Tippecanoe County, one that would be big enough to power 20,000 homes.

Geenex recently sent flyers for a public information meeting to residents in the area touting what it called the Rainbow Trout Solar Project, which the company’s materials says could start construction in 2026 and be ready for operation by 2028.

From Geenex’s site about what it is calling the Rainbow Trout Solar Project, near Montmorenci.

An exact address for the project wasn’t given. But a map included online shows an area near Montmorenci, close to the intersection of U.S. 52 and U.S. 231, about three miles west of West Lafayette.

Company officials did not immediately respond to questions about the project. But according to its site, Geenex – a company with solar projects in several states – would lease land for its arrays that are expected to produce 120 megawatts. The project would last up to 40 years, according to Geenex’s site. The project information offered online does not indicate which customers would get the energy from the solar project.

Tippecanoe County approved an addition to its zoning codes in 2021 that calls for anyone proposing large-scale solar projects to lay out a decommissioning plan that would need approval from the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals. As of now, no hearing is listed on Board of Zoning Appeals agendas.

Lafayette has installed ground-based solar arrays in recent years, though much smaller in scale. Lafayette Renew, the city’s wastewater department, has a solar array at its Pearl River lift station, just south of the bridges into downtown Lafayette. That array generates 390 kilowatts, covering 90% of the electricity needs at that lift station, according to city figures. The city is installing two other arrays for Lafayette Renew, including an 810 kilowatt array is expected to offset 22% of the electricity needed to operate the wastewater treatment plant on Wabash Avenue and a 220 kilowatt array that will offset 33% of the energy needed to run a lift station on Ross Road, near the Ivy Tech Community College campus.

• If you go: The Geenex public information meeting for a proposed solar project near Montmorenci will be 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at the Innovation Room of the Convergence Center, 101 Foundry Drive in West Lafayette, in Purdue’s Discovery Park District.

NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE BASED IN LAFAYETTE REPORTING PROJECT.

A BIT CROWDED AT APC WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Expect an overflow room for Wednesday evening’s Area Plan Commission meeting, where a couple of rezoning requests come with opposition from neighbors carrying petitions with hundreds of signatures. (County officials said they were looking into setting up chairs outside the first-floor Tippecanoe Room and piping audio from inside to those who can’t fit in.)

Here’s some of what’s in play …