Doral renewable energy sources, a clean energy project developer, expects commercial operation of its 400 MW Mammoth North Solar project, the first phase of the 1.3 GW Mammoth Solar complex in Indiana. The Mammoth North Solar project will soon be the largest operational solar facility in Indiana and could provide 75,000 homes with renewable energy annually.
Credit: Doral Renewables
The company was joined at a ribbon-cutting event by Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg, landowners and representatives from SOLV Energy, Nextrackerthe Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the American Clean Power Association (ACP), and other industry and project stakeholder representatives.
“Celebrating Mammoth North’s commercial activities with our community partners, elected officials and of course Sec. Rosenberg affirms that rural Indiana is the best place to power America’s next wave of power-hungry, job-creating companies,” said Nick Cohen, president and CEO of Doral Renewables. “Starting with a farmer and a field near a discovered pile of woolly mammoth bones, the project quickly turned into 75 fields representing hundreds of people. With animals and new food crops, the project brings back traditional agriculture and preserves the farms for future generations. And every resident of the province benefits from millions of dollars in our tax and economic payments.”
More than 1,500 sheep serve the project’s vegetation management, an operation run by local farmer Billy Bope.
“The dual-use capabilities that Mammoth Solar offers are a win-win scenario. We are able to diversify our farming practices with livestock, which allows us to maintain vegetation at the level Mammoth North needs,” Bope said. “Specifically for my family, Mammoth Solar ensures that future generations of Bopes can remain on our family farm.”
The project’s partners emphasized its role in providing clean, renewable energy to the grid while relying on U.S. labor and materials to build it.
“We are extremely proud to be working with leading developer Doral Renewables on the Mammoth Solar Project here in Indiana, using American-made components,” said Dan Shugar, founder and CEO of Nextracker, the project’s tracker manufacturer . “The system is designed for dual use, so local farmers can raise livestock and harvest clean energy on the same farm at a lower cost.” “As a solar contractor, our focus is on ensuring that all project stakeholders receive the maximum benefit that renewable energy can deliver to communities,” said George Hershman, CEO of SOLV Energy, the project’s Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) provider . “Partnering with Doral on Mammoth North created job training and learning opportunities for area workers and K-12 students and resulted in long-term revenue streams that will support local services and landowners for years to come.”
News item from Doral Renewables