Geronimo Power outlines 145 MW Worthington Solar project, seeks 10-year abatement and $2.5M EDA payments

Representatives of Geronimo Power introduced a proposed 145-megawatt ground-mounted solar project, called Worthington Solar, in Fairplay Township and asked the Greene County Council to consider an economic development agreement (EDA) that would grant a ten-year abatement of personal distributable property in exchange for $2.5 million of economic-development payments spread over ten years.

Ben Adovich, a Geronimo Power representative, said the company has secured interconnection agreements after a multi-year study process with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and Hoosier Electric Cooperative and is preparing a construction schedule that targets mobilization in early 2027 and commercial operation in October 2028.

Adovich described the planned project footprint as roughly 1,300 acres of leased land (much of it not usable due to FEMA floodplain constraints) and said the secured fenced area would be substantially smaller. He said the project would connect to a substation adjacent to an existing Hoosier substation and that Geronimo would build and operate its own O&M (operations and maintenance) building near that site while Hoosier would retain control of its substation.

On economic benefits, Adovich estimated the project could generate a peak construction workforce in the low hundreds (he used a 175–230 peak-range example as a construction-industry estimate) and permanently employ one to two full-time operations staff on site plus seasonal contractors for vegetation management. He said Geronimo typically offers a charitable fund sized by project megawatts ($250 per megawatt per year for 20 years) to local grantmaking organizations and said his firm would seek to partner with local foundations.

Geronimo’s EDA offer includes: - Full abatement of personal distributable property over 10 years in return for $2.5 million in economic development payments spread over that period. - A guaranteed 15% baseline minimum assessment floor to address uncertainty from state legislation referred to during the meeting (Geronimo said it would make up the difference through conditional EDA payments if necessary). - A road-use and maintenance agreement, to be negotiated with the county engineer, including a baseline road condition survey, dust mitigation during construction, and restoration obligations at the end of construction. - Emergency-response training with local EMS and fire responders and a proposed commitment to coordinate on incident preparedness.

Adovich said the company primarily secures land through 25-year leases with three 10-year extension options, and he described decommissioning security provisions in lease agreements. He said Geronimo’s preferred module vendor is First Solar (U.S.-manufactured panels) and that modules typically are warrantied and degrade slowly; typical power-purchase or offtake contracts Geronimo signs run 15–25 years.

Council members asked about leasing terms, decommissioning, projected jobs, use of local labor and materials, union and prevailing-wage considerations under the Inflation Reduction Act and tax-credit rules, and how the project would interact with county services. Adovich said construction would be bid to both union and nonunion firms, the company seeks local suppliers when feasible, and that operations would place minimal ongoing demand on water or sewer. He said emergency responders would train with Geronimo on array incidents and that the company would negotiate a road-use agreement to limit construction impacts.

The council did not act on the EDA at the meeting; Geronimo said it had provided a draft EDA to county staff and planned to participate in the council’s Nov. 17 meeting to continue negotiations.