Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb (brown jacket) is joined by local, state and solar company officials, plus project supporters for the groundbreaking of Mammoth Solar South in Pulaski County.

“Today is another great day for the region and for Indiana as we progress toward developing the largest solar farm project in the country,” said Gov. Holcomb. “Clean energy projects like Mammoth Solar will be critical to our energy source portfolio and to powering leading industries like agbiosciences and the advanced manufacturing as we seek to grow and attract them both. We’ll do this as we simultaneously work to increase the quality of life and place in our neighborhoods and communities for years to come.”

“Indiana continues to make strides in transitioning to more sustainable, clean energy because of innovators and investors like Doral Renewables,” said Chambers. “This impressive solar farm project will help serve residential and commercial customers in northwest Indiana and across the Midwest region, fueling our next-gen industries that are building the economy of the future.”

In October 2021, Doral Renewables announced plans to establish Mammoth Solar across 13,000 acres in Starke and Pulaski counties, investing $1.5 billion to bring 1.3 gigawatts of clean energy to the region and beyond. The company is developing the solar farm in three phases: Mammoth North (phase one), which is already under construction and is expected to be operational by the end of 2023; Mammoth South (phase two), which was launched Thursday; and Mammoth Central (phase three), which is in the early stages of development. Once complete, Mammoth Solar will be the largest solar energy project in the country. 

“Solar farming is part of a wave of jobs and prosperity sweeping through rural America and every resident of the county will benefit," said Nick Cohen, president and CEO of Doral Renewables. "It will deliver $40 million to Pulaski County over 20 years. Property taxes will be reduced for landowners at a time when other counties are raising taxes. Mammoth in Pulaski will contribute approximately $400 million in payroll to the local area workforce.” 

Mammoth South, which will be a ground-mounted single axis PV system across 3,500 acres in Pulaski County, will produce 300 megawatts of clean energy, generating renewable power for thousands of households in northwest Indiana and the greater Midwest region and providing opportunities for nearby companies to meet renewable targets. Mammoth South is expected to be operational by 2024.

“The farms in this area have historically grown corn, soybeans, popcorn, mint, and potatoes. Now we will also be harvesting energy from the sun. We even envision the potential for adding more types of agriculture to this area,” said Doug and Cherry Podell, who spoke at the groundbreaking as representatives of the project’s local landowners. “We look forward to seeing how the current Pulaski County citizens and future generations will prosper as Doral will be a vital part of the Pulaski County economic story going forward.”

Pulaski County CDC executive director Nathan Origer also spoke at the event, further outlining the economic impact the solar project will have on the county.

Among others joining Holcomb at the groundbreaking were Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, Yinam Cohen, Dori Davidovitz, chairman of the board at Doral Group Renewable Energy Resources, and Nick Cohen, CEO of Doral LLC, along with local community leadership. A special guest was Martha Walorski, mother of the late Congresswoman Jackie Walorski. The event was held at the Meadow Springs event center south of Francesville.

Nick Cohen, a native of Tipton, Ind., has been instrumental in meeting locally with landowners and community shareholders in developing the project in Starke and Pulaski counties. He reminisced at last year’s ground-breaking ceremony for Mammoth North about meeting with landowners “in their barns and on their porches” over the better part of the last two (now three) years to introduce and explain the project, and answer questions.

As with the development of solar, wind and similar projects elsewhere in the state and nation, the Mammoth Solar project has faced opposition to its development. Opponents have spoken at meetings of county officials, held informational meetings outlining their concerns, taken out advertising and billboards and staged protests – including one at Thursday's Francesville groundbreaking. Several lawsuits against the county have also been filed in an attempt to block the solar project.

After some delay due to logistical procedures, a building permit for the project was issued by Pulaski County government Thursday morning before the groundbreaking; however, some details remain to be resolved pending legal action against the project, according to Origer.

IDEC reports Mammoth Solar is advancing the region’s transition to green energy, supporting Indiana’s latest ranking as No. 4 in the U.S. for the development of clean energy. In addition to providing renewable energy, Mammoth Solar is projected to remove 40,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and conserve one billion gallons of irrigation well water annually. As part of the company’s efforts to support the local ecosystem, Doral Renewables is potentially seeking to implement agrivoltaic practices that would allow landowners to grow crops between the solar panels and establish a sheep grazing area. 

Based on the company’s job creation plans, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) committed an investment in Doral Renewables LLC of up to $300,000 in the form of incentive-based tax credits. Additionally, the IEDC committed to an investment of up to $1,225,000 through the Industrial Development Grant Fund to support infrastructure needs surrounding the development in Starke and Pulaski counties. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired and trained.

 (Note of interest: the Mammoth name was selected in reference to the pre-historic skeletal bones discovered of the Mastodon creatures over past decades in the area where the solar project is to be built.)

About Doral Renewables
Doral Renewables is a U.S. company owned by Doral Renewable Energy Resources Group (TASE:DORL, “Doral Group”), a publicly traded Israeli renewable energy company, Migdal Group, Israel’s largest insurance company and pension manager, and U.S. members. Doral is developing a 10-GWac wind, solar, and storage portfolio across 20 states, eight electricity markets and covering approximately 100,000 acres of land. It has over $2 billion in long-term wholesale power purchase agreements with U.S. customers.

About Doral Group
Doral Group is a publicly traded company on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in Israel (DORL) and is a global renewable energy leader, holding hundreds of long-term revenue-generating renewable energy assets. Doral Group is active, inter alia, in Israel, Europe, and the United States. Doral Group is also emerging as a worldwide leader in the field of solar + storage solutions, following its win of Israel’s biggest solar + storage tenders to build approximately 750 MWdc + 1,400MWh of storage facilities in Israel.

About IEDC 
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) is charged with growing the State economy, driving economic development, helping businesses launch, grow and locate in the state. Led by Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers, @SecChambersIN, and governed by a 15-member board chaired by Governor Eric J. Holcomb, @GovHolcomb, the IEDC manages many initiatives, including performance-based tax credits, workforce training grants, innovation and entrepreneurship resources, public infrastructure assistance, and talent attraction and retention efforts. For more information about the IEDC, visit iedc.in.gov.