A ribbon cutting ceremony took place Tuesday afternoon to celebrate an alternative source of electricity for the Town of Argos.
The Argos Solar Park, developed by the Indiana Municipal Power Agency, took several months to complete, boasting 2,700 solar panels on just under seven acres of land. The solar park is expected to produce .7 Megawatts.
IMPA CEO Raj Rao says the cost of production is economical.
“We believe we are bringing benefits to the community,” says. “When we bring solar power to our communities, the property taxes remain here. In an extra 40, 50 or 60 years time period, those property taxes will be coming to the community. That’s the good thing. Also, we don’t pay for the transmission and other charges because we are using locally, right here.”
IMPA is a wholesale electric power provider in about 60 cities across Indiana. The non-profit cooperative works to share electric power, which looks to lower costs for its customers.
The company has been working on several projects over the course of the last year, with additional solareverything projects expecting completion in the near future.
Officials with the Town of Argos and IMPA discussed the plans behind the project during the Tuesday ceremony. Argos Town Council President Mark VanDerWeele says it was had to envision the finished product when they were approached about the project one year ago.
“It looks great. It’s going to help everybody,” says VanDerWeele. “Green power is becoming more and more efficient. They’re assisting us by paying property taxes. We took a vacant piece of farmland and we’ve turned it into something that helps our community.”
Solar panels utilize sunlight to convert direct current into the alternating current – which is transformed into the proper energy levels for homes in the Town.
