Developers abandon Lone Oak solar project
ANDERSON — The planned Lone Oak solar facility in northern Madison County has been abandoned by the developer.
Invenergy has withdrawn its appeal in Grant County for a judicial review of the Madison County Board of Zoning Appeals decision not to grant an extension for the start of construction.
Jeff Graham, attorney for Madison County, said Tuesday that the withdrawal of the appeal means the project will not move forward.
In March, the Indiana Supreme Court denied a request by the developers of the facility to consider a decision by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals denied the request of the developers to overturn a decision by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to assume jurisdiction in a complaint filed by Invenergy, affirming a decision in April not to take jurisdiction.
The company obtained a special use permit from the Board of Zoning Appeals in 2019 with construction to have been completed by Dec. 31, 2023.
Previously, Invenergy asked and the IURC agreed not to exercise jurisdiction over the project.
In a 2024 complaint, Invenergy maintained that it was unreasonable for the Madison County Board of Zoning Appeals to require that the Lone Oak facility be operational by Dec. 31, 2023.
The company wanted the IURC to rule that the county's decision not to grant a two-year extension was unreasonable and that the county's 2017 solar ordinance should be voided.
If that action was not approved, the company wanted the state commission to provide an additional three years to complete the project.
The original request for the IURC to assume jurisdiction asked that one of two steps be taken to allow for future construction of the $110 million project that would produce 120 megawatts of electricity on 800 acres.
The company was asking the IURC to rule that the county's solar ordinance is unreasonable or void.
In its decision, the IURC noted that Invenergy had requested a judicial review of the BZA decision and that the review was pending in Grant County.
Invenergy maintains that it couldn't begin work on the Lone Oak facility for several reasons, including a pending lawsuit by remonstrators that hindered financing, the COVID-19 pandemic and related supply-chain issues.
At a 2023 hearing, Michael Hill, an attorney for Invenergy, said that if the IURC declined to exercise jurisdiction, the ordinance and BZA denial of the extension would 'effectively kill' the facility.
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