The Dimes, They Are a Changin'

Jay County is a hotbed of renewable energy development in Indiana with two wind turbine installations already in place and four solar panel installations at various stages of development. Each of the developments has been structured with economic development payments in exchange for property tax phase in. This leaves the community with a multimillion-dollar fund over the next 5-10 years with a wide latitude of potential uses. Because these funds are received on a one-time basis, Jay County needs to ensure that they are used in the smartest way possible to achieve the county’s long-term strategic goals.

Jay County challenges FFC innovators with providing a unique solution to invest these funds. The solution could range from how 1) to invest the funds for long term savings to 2) how to create a plan for their usage to 3) what types of projects are best suited for funding.

How might we utilize one-time renewable energy economic development funds over next 5-10 years?