Renewable energy is expanding across the nation – including right here in Indiana. A 120 MW solar project named Rustic Hills Solar will be built in Warrick County bringing energy to 17,000 homes. To accomplish this power output, the project will encompass 640 acres and provide jobs for 300 Hoosiers to build the solar array. Operation is estimated to begin by the end of 2023.

“This collaboration continues our transition of Hoosier Energy’s resource portfolio to a much higher percentage of renewable sources,” said Hoosier Energy President and CEO Donna Walker. “The solar energy developed at Rustic Hills will serve thousands of Hoosiers while continuing to reduce our carbon footprint, benefiting the environment, Hoosier Energy members and all of their member-consumers.”

This announcement comes on the heels of the U.S. Energy Department’s proposed plan for solar energy to provide 45 percent of the United States’ electricity by 2050.

In 2020, Hoosier Energy announced its plans to retire its remaining coal-powered generating station by May 2023. The decision will save its member co-ops more than $700 million over the next decade while shifting Hoosier Energy’s portfolio toward renewable energy.

Hoosier Energy and Clēnera agreed to a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) through affiliate Rustic Hills Solar LLC. This 20-year contract is the cooperative’s first PPA with Clēnera – a developer of large-scale solar and storage projects, and a subsidiary of Enlight Renewable Energy LTD.