Burns & McDonnell Delivering Utility’s First Turnkey Solar Project

After successfully completing the engineering phase earlier this year, Burns & McDonnell will begin the construction of a 50-megawatt (MW) universal solar array in Troy, Indiana, to service electric customers in CenterPoint Energy’s Indiana Electric territory. When combined with the utility’s 4 MWs of solar power already in service, the new solar farm, which is expected to be fully operational in early 2021, will generate enough electricity to power more than 12,000 households per year.

“The Troy solar farm is another important project in the continued evolution of our generation fleet as we add more renewable energy sources to our portfolio,” said Steve Greenley, Senior Vice President, Generation Development for CenterPoint Energy. “Burns & McDonnell has a long history of delivering projects on time and on budget, while working safely. We are collaborating with the firm’s integrated design and construction teams to bring universal solar energy to the southwestern Indiana communities we serve.”

CenterPoint Energy’s newest solar array, which was approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in 2018, will consist of approximately 150,000 solar panels distributed across 300 acres along Indiana State Road 545 between Troy and New Boston, Ind. Each panel will be mounted on a single-axis tracking system, enabling the panels to automatically shift to maximize energy generation as the sun’s rays move across the surface of the Earth. Once the project is substantially completed, Burns & McDonnell will provide commissioning and startup services before the new array goes online in 2021.

“Integrating our construction capabilities into our overall solar delivery offering enables us to leverage our extensive track record of successful utility-scale construction execution across multiple disciplines,” said Chad Cotter, Director of Solar EPC for Burns & McDonnell. “By providing skills and experience, along with dedicated resources, we are streamlining project delivery with parallel engineering, procurement and construction activities. The Troy installation will be among the largest single-sited solar farms in the Tri-State area and will support surrounding communities for decades to come.”

The project is an important step in CenterPoint Energy’s goal to reduce its operational emissions by 70% by 2035. The company’s reduction goal is based on its 2005 emissions. With 4 MW of universal solar already in service in Vanderburgh County, the new installation will expand CenterPoint Energy’s Indiana electric solar production by more than 13 times its current capacity.

Burns & McDonnell is partnering with Indiana-based suppliers and contractors to assist with equipment procurement and on-site labor efforts. As one of the most prominent renewable resources in the state, the Troy installation signifies CenterPoint Energy’s first self-build solar project. CenterPoint Energy’s Indiana electric territory provides electric service to more than 144,000 customers in southwestern Indiana.

Burns & McDonnell ranks among the top 10 design firms in the U.S. and as the No. 1 firm in Power, according to Engineering News-Record (ENR). Additionally, the firm has been recognized by ENR among the top 10 design-build firms in the nation.

Now is the time. There is one week remaining to make sure your voice is heard. Let’s talk about your vote, and then we can discuss my candidacy.  Locally voting numbers are unprecedented in some places, and lagging in some wards. How do you figure into that equation? What have you done in 2020 that will cement your personal interest, your passions, your concerns, and your aspirations for the next four years as part of the official record? If no one of your ideological persuasion showed up to vote how would that affect the circumstances of the people you love? How would it affect you personally? If the last four years have been a testament to anything, it is that voting or the lack of has defined merits and consequences….depending on the view from your chosen side of the aisle. Either way, I think we can all agree that the impacts have been significant. This is why you must VOTE!

Those impacts have been a catalyst that led me to vote in-person on the very first day of early voting. The status of voting in Indiana was a parallel motivator that led me to step up and run for Vanderburgh County Clerk.  When life is harmonious and easy, complacency can feel easy as well.  It is when you bear witness to the sort of injustice that impinges on your sense of ethics, that the compunction begins to creep in.  In Indiana, we already have one of the shortest election days of all fifty states at ‘twelve hours’. Concurrently, we are one of only four states that did not approve no-excuse absentee voting. Even more confusing has been the timeline for both absentee ballot postmark and receipt deadlines that have continued to flux as variant rulings bounce around appellate courts. As recently as two weeks ago, the expanded timeline for returning a mail-in the absentee ballot was rescinded. It must now once again arrive by noon on election day.

 For any County Clerk that should mean expanded and early communication, but that hasn’t been the result. The current office-holder in Vanderburgh County hasn’t posted to the News section of the Clerk’s website since mid-May and she hasn’t addressed the timeline changes in any capacity. Within her staff, there have been allegations of abuse. On September 17^th Carla Hayden, Vanderburgh County Clerk admitted to hurling a bottle of soda in anger. Her Deputy Clerk, a county employee of nearly 25 years, quit the same day. This may be just the tip of the iceberg, and Vanderburgh County deserves far better. 

I’m Sloane Standley, and I ask for your vote for Vanderburgh County Clerk. I hold a BA in Communication Studies. I am a Spanish/English bilingual. I have earned national awards for excellence in management and operations within the arena of a bargained environment. I am prepared and excited to lead. I have the experience and the education to bring honor back to the office, which I regard as an extension of the courts. My goals for the office include unencumbered fair access to the ballot box, sound management practice, development of staff, increased diversity in staffing, and regular communication with the community I serve. 

We the people means all the people. I humbly ask for your vote in the next seven days, but no matter what, please make the time to go vote and do it early!!!