Mammoth Solar is a 1,600–

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

(MW_DC) solar photovoltaic power project in Pulaski and Starke Counties, Indiana, United States. The plant is being constructed in three phases and will be the largest photovoltaic power station in the United States and western hemisphere when complete. The first section of 480 MW came online in July 2024. The project is being developed by Doral Renewables, a subsidiary of Israeli company Doral Energy, and is expected to cost . It will produce enough electricity to power 250,000 homes.

Project

Doral Energy has contracts with about 60 landowners to use approximately of land for the project, though excluding setbacks, forests, and wetlands, the 2.85 million solar panels will cover only about . Most of the farmland is used for

corn ethanol Corn ethanol is ethanol produced from corn biomass and is the main source of ethanol fuel in the United States, mandated to be blended with gasoline in the Renewable Fuel Standard. Corn ethanol is produced by ethanol fermentation and distill ...

production; powering gasoline cars with bioethanol consumes around 70 times more land than powering electric vehicles with solar power. Doral is working with landowners to support dual uses of the project land as

agrivoltaics Agrivoltaics (agrophotovoltaics, agrisolar, or dual-use solar) is the dual use of land for solar energy and agriculture. The technique was first conceived by Adolf Goetzberger and Armin Zastrow in 1981. Many agricultural activities can be combi ...

to allow for grazing of 2,000 sheep, alpacas and donkeys and farming of various crops around the solar panels, including research on plant growth under panels. Operations will be managed by NovaSource. The phases will use three points of interconnection on a 345 kV power line to deliver power into the

PJM Interconnection PJM Interconnection LLC (PJM) is a regional transmission organization (RTO) in the United States. It is part of the Eastern Interconnection grid operating an electric transmission system serving all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Ke ...

American Electric Power American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP), (railcar reporting mark: AEPX) is an American domestic electric utility company in the United States. It is one of the largest electric utility companies in the country, with more than five mi ...

has power purchase agreements for electricity produced in phases one and two and half of phase three.

Constellation Energy Constellation Energy Corporation is an American energy company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The company provides electric power, natural gas, and energy management services. It has approximately two million customers across the conti ...

has a power purchase agreements on the other half of the power in phase three, passed on to four corporations. Pulaski and Starke Counties will each see per year in additional property tax revenue for the life of the project, about a fifth of their budgets. The project is also making economic development payments to Pulaski County totaling $375,200 in 2024. Pulaski County also designated the project an Economic Revitalization Area, granting it a tax abatement; the

Indiana Court of Appeals The Indiana Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the U.S. state, state of Indiana. It is the successor to the Indiana Appellate Court. History The Indiana Appellate Court was created by the Indiana General Assembly by s ...

rejected a lawsuit challenging the designation. Local landowners are paid about per acre leased. The project's name references

mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

fossils that were unearthed in the region of the solar project, now on display at the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. With 4.4 ...

NIMBY NIMBY (, or nimby), an acronym for the phrase "Not In My Back Yard", is a characterization of opposition by residents to proposed real estate development and infrastructure developments in their local area, as well as support for strict land us ...

groups have organized against the project and filed suit against Pulaski County's zoning approval.

Phases and construction

SOLV Energy is the project's EPC contractor. The Mammoth North phase in Starke County had a groundbreaking ceremony in October 2021. Construction began in March 2022 and it was completed in July 2024 with a capacity of 480 MW_DC/400 MW_AC. The project uses 540-watt modules from

Trina Solar Trina Solar Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese photovoltaics company founded in 1997. History In 2018, Trina Solar launched Energy IoT brand, established the Trina Energy IoT Industrial Development Alliance together with leading companies and research ...

. The second phase, Mammoth South in Pulaski County, had a groundbreaking ceremony in November 2022. Construction is expected to begin in 2024, and it will have a capacity of 300 MW_AC. Indiana governor

Eric Holcomb Eric Joseph Holcomb ( ; born May 2, 1968) is an American politician who served as the 51st governor of Indiana, from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served from 2016 to 2017 as the 51st Lieuten ...

attended groundbreaking ceremonies for both phases. Holcomb later joined Doral's board of directors. Work on the 600 MW_AC third phase, Mammoth Central in Pulaski County, may begin in 2025.

References

External links

* {{Solar power in the United States Power stations in Indiana Photovoltaic power stations in the United States Energy infrastructure completed in 2024

Project

Phases and construction

See also

References

External links