Huge solar project at Hamilton County jail to brighten budget

The future has never been brighter for inmates at the Hamilton County Jail.

At least on the outside.

County officials are planning one of the largest solar installations in the state at the jail complex, where 9,300 panels will generate enough electricity to power about 500 homes and save millions of dollars in utility costs.

The panels would be placed on the roofs of the jail, work release building, juvenile detention facility, woman’s annex and the administrative building in Noblesville. Solar panels also would be arrayed on county-owned land nearby and provide enough energy to air condition and heat the jail and county health department buildings.

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County Commissioner Christine Altman said it was the second time in three years the commission had considered the move, but it was more affordable this time.

“The costs of installing the panels has gone down 200 percent since then, and the electrical rates keep rising,” Altman said. “It would be stupid not to do this.”

The 3.4 megawatts of power the jail installation would generate will dwarf the 1.34 megawatt output planned for Ikea, which will have 4,000 panels on its roof. The 289,000-square-foot furniture store is scheduled to open this fall at the 116th Street exit of I-69 in Fishers.

The Indianapolis International Airport has the largest solar farm in the state and the largest airport solar farm in the U.S. It has a capacity of 20 megawatts, compared to the 9 megawatts at  Indianapolis Motor Speedway's solar farm.

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The County Commission plans to borrow $8 million to pay Johnson-Melloh of Indianapolis for the solar project. The company has completed several local installations, including the airport and at Sheridan Community Schools.

The plan will be presented next month to the Hamilton County Council, which controls county spending. But council President Fred Glynn said it's unlikely to come up for a vote then.

"This proposal is currently at $8 million and would add a significant amount to our debt load," Glynn said in an email. "It will have to be further examined."

The switch to solar would cut to nothing the $1 million a year in power bills the county pays for the jail complex. The department would make $653,000 a year in payments for the bonds over 20 years. The project also calls for switching the jail complex to energy-saving light emitting diode (LED) bulbs.

A representative of Johnson-Melloh declined to comment until the council had considered the proposal.

Altman said the commission also has tentative plans to put solar panels at the proposed courthouse expansion in Noblesville. That $22 million, 110,000-square-foot expansion is still in the planning stages.

More than 25,000 homes in Indiana are powered by the sun, generating about 143 megawatts of energy, according to the Solar Energies Industries Association and the state of Indiana office of energy development. The state’s 84 solar companies hire about 2,700 employees, according to the SEIA.

Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-6418. Follow him on Twitter: @John_Tuohy.