It’s getting to be that time of year. Birds are chirping, rain is falling, temps are rising and the sun is shining longer. 

This is not just good news for farmers and mushroom hunters. This is good news to all who want to go, or have gone, green. 

Longer days bring the opportunity to create more electricity through solar panels. 

While out and about, we’ve heard questions about the big block of solar panels in LaOtto, just off of State Road 3 (see some photos at right). The solar array is part of the program Noble REMC has been talking about for over a year: Co-op Solar. The community solar program is offered by our wholesale power supplier, Wabash Valley Power, in conjunction with Noble REMC. 

Wabash Valley owns the array, but you get to use it! 

The program is designed for our members who want to use green energy, but don’t want the investment or have room for a solar array at their home. There is an opportunity to purchase solar power from these arrays at our member level, to continue to move toward a greener footprint on a broader level. 

For some time now, there has been a growing movement to go green, and Wabash Valley proactively started purchasing and building arrays to kickstart this program. Noble REMC is fortunate to have one of these arrays on our system that will be tied in and producing clean renewable energy by mid-summer for our members and other area cooperative members. 

Since this is officially a Wabash Valley generation array, the initial investment is paid at the wholesale level. It does not mean a rate increase. In fact, this is an effort to sustain affordable production costs moving well into the future. 

The days of building multi-billion-dollar fossil fuel generation facilities are days of old. Regional micro-grids are becoming more of a reality daily. 

As with any change, I’m sure there will be differing opinions, but green energy production will continue to grow and supply larger amounts of our total consumption. This makes the opportunity to be on the front end of this revolution a high priority for Noble REMC. 

If you are interested in participating in the Co-op Solar program, please visit nobleremc.com or contact me for more information.

About the LaOtto Solar Generating Station

• 1-megawatt array, totaling 3,648 solar panels

• Encompasses six acres of an eight-acre plot

• Located on the southeast corner of C.R. 70 and S.R. 3

• Owned by Wabash Valley Power, located and serviced on Noble REMC lines

• Part of our Co-op Solar program, from which you can benefit from purchasing blocks