EnergyRe pulls application for Putnam County solar farm

Months of plans, speculation and meetings came to an abrupt halt Monday morning when EnergyRe officials notified Putnam County leaders of their intent to stop moving forward with a proposed solar farm near Cloverdale. 

EmergyRe withdrew its current 4Leaf application, which would have brought a 150 megawatt project to the county. 

The notification came from Emily Knuth, project developer, by way of an email to Lisa Zeiner, Director of the Plan Commission. 

"I am writing to formally withdraw 4Leaf Solar's 150 MW rezone application from the Putnam County Planning and Zoning process. We have also withdrawn our interconnection request from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator que. The projected interconnection costs and associated upgrade requirements ultimately made the project infeasible at this time. As a result, we will not be moving forward with local approvals," Knuth wrote. 

The most recent development is the second time this year EnergyRe officials emailed Zeiner letting her know of changes in their plans. 

In January, EnergyRe attorney Kyle T. Resetarits emailed Zeiner seeking a continuance, which was granted. 

"A continuance will allow the Petitioner to finalize supplemental presentation materials and address public concerns in a way that will materially aid the Plan Commission's review of the matter and the completeness of the record. We believe proceeding on a continued date will streamline the hearing and better align the presentation with the Plan Commission's decision criteria," Resetarits wrote. 

Putnam County Commissioners put into effect a moratorium on solar farms until Nov. 17, 2026. The moratorium also covers data centers, wind farms, and solar energy conservation systems.

In addition, last year, both the Plan Commission and Putnam County Commissioners voted a rezone request from EnergyRe down.