Project partners have held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a 9 MW solar farm at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), which is home to various auto races, including the world-famous Indianapolis 500.
The IMS Solar Farm, located adjacent to the backstretch of the facility's 2.5-mile oval racetrack, features a total of 39,312 solar modules. IMS says it used a portion of its 1,000-acre campus that was underutilized.
San Jose-based SunWize Technologies Inc. and Phoenix-based Blue Renewable Energy co-developed the project: Blue Renewable Energy entered into a land-lease agreement with IMS to build the system on the property, and SunWize designed, engineered and installed the solar project. Under a power purchase agreement, Indianapolis Power & Light Co. (IPL) will serve as the project's off-taker and own the solar renewable energy credits.
"In 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was constructed, in part, to help advance the automotive industry, which at that time was the new technology of the day," said J. Douglas Boles, IMS president." Today, IMS is honored to be part of a partnership with IPL, SunWize and Blue Renewable Energy where innovation and technology are coming together to bring diversification of generation resources to this community."
