Plans are moving ahead for construction of a 26-acre solar farm at the site of a former scrap steel plant in Kokomo.
The city’s Plan Commission has approved the proposal from South Bend-based Inovateus Solar for the estimated $10 million project with 21,000 solar panels. Duke Energy has reached a 20-year agreement with Inovateus to buy electricity generated by the Kokomo farm when it opens.
The solar farm will go on a portion of a former Continental Steel plant, which underwent a large-scale cleaning operation costing more than $40 million. The 183-acre factory was covered with tons of lead- and PCB-contaminated waste that accumulated over years of heavy industrial use.
In 1986, Continental Steel closed down, followed by bankruptcy a few years later. The site has been vacant for years, pending remediation efforts. The publication says the site was featured by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as one of the country’s most dangerous sites.
Officials expect the solar project to be complete in the fall.
For more information visit:Inside Indiana Business
