Bellflower Solar
173MW of renewable energy near Indianapolis
173MWᴅᴄ
/152.5MWᴀᴄ of home-grown renewable energy
202,000 metric tons
carbon emissions abated each year for healthier air
26,800
equivalent U.S. homes powered
$30 million
in property taxes, benefitting local schools & public services
$169 million
private investment in energy infrastructure for Indiana's energy security and independence
Site Selection & Preliminary Design
Stakeholder outreach
Permitting & environmental studies
Land management & biodiversity planning
Final engineering, financing & construction
Operation & maintenance
Decommissioning & recycling
The 173MW Bellflower solar farm, located about 40 miles east of Indianapolis in Indiana’s Rush and Henry Counties, has entered full commercial operations.
Lightsource bp developed, financed the solar farm with $169 million of private capital, and will continue to operate Bellflower Solar. Under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA), Verizon Communications will benefit from the clean energy of the project. The solar farm is expected to offset the equivalent of 202,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, improving air quality while furthering Verizon’s goal of being carbon neutral in its operations (scope 1 and 2) by 2035.
Bellflower Solar is helping reduce America’s foreign dependence and increase Indiana’s energy security with home-grown clean energy. Projects like Bellflower also help strengthen local rural economies. The Bellflower Solar project:
- Is expected to generate $30 million in property tax revenue to Rush and Henry Counties over its life, benefitting local schools and other community public services.
- Will have an annual operations budget of $2.4 million. primarily spent in the region.
- Created hundreds of U.S. jobs across the supply chain, while supporting domestic manufacturers and low carbon products. More than 350 people worked on-site during peak construction to build the facility.
Sheep grazing under and around the solar panels at Bellflower. Solar grazing is a form of agrivoltaics
A bee buzzing around a flower at the Bellflower solar farm.
The Bellflower solar farm brings many environmental benefits to Indiana, in addition to improving air quality by reducing carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation.
- Lightsource bp planted 800 acres of land under and around the solar panels with vegetation that includes native species beneficial to pollinators and other wildlife, which will be conserved for decades. An additional 10 acres has been dedicated to lush pollinator gardens with more than 60 different types of flowering plants.
- The solar farm is participating in a research study which will measure the ecological benefits of pollinator habitat at utility- scale solar. The research team consists of the University of Illinois Chicago, the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, the Argonne National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
- Land under and around the solar panels is also being kept in agricultural production. A local commercial beekeeper is managing hives and will produce solar farm honey, while another local Indiana farmer is grazing sheep to help maintain the vegetation.
Information and resources
We’ve put together a collection of resources for anyone who’d like to know more about our Bellflower solar project – or about solar in general
Solar farm FAQs
We’ve put together a list of the most commonly asked questions, and their answers
Stories
Find out more about our Responsible Solar approach
Researching the benefits of pollinator conservation at Bellflower Solar
Habitat enhancement in Indiana
Get in touch
If you’d like to find out more about this project, email USCommunityRelations@lightsourcebp.com or fill out the form below. We aim to get back to you within five working days.
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Explore our other solar projects in Indiana
Honeysuckle Solar
188 MW
St. Joseph County, Indiana
Energy partner: AEP Energy Partners