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Watering the Grassroots in Rural Indiana

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April 8, 2026

In rural Indiana, solar offers energy resilience and economic opportunity. Yet the embrace of utility-scale projects is often stymied by restrictive siting ordinances stemming from negative public perception of solar and anti-solar actors like monopoly utilities. These restrictions also prevent small businesses, homeowners, and farmers from going solar. 

“Having solar at all scales of deployment is one of the best ways for us to move forward with a positive energy future,” said Associate Indiana Program Director Brian Flory. In Indiana, the road to this future runs through rural counties whose energy needs are regularly deprioritized. So, in 2025, SUN worked to combat misinformation through a rural organizing strategy.

Building Trust, Breaking Barriers

In Allen County, local ordinances are unnecessarily prohibitive: Under a previous ordinance, solar projects were restricted to 10,000 square feet, and under the current one, large-scale solar projects must be set back 1,000 feet from mainline roads and neighboring property. SUN led a nine-month campaign to advocate for a better solar siting ordinance. We listened to better understand community concerns and address them.

This resulted in 1,300 petition signatures, 500 letters and postcards sent directly to county commissioners, and 100 attendees, including 25 speakers, at public hearings throughout 2025.

Phil Goss, a farmer and solar owner from Allen County, was one of those voices. He spoke at an Area Planning Commission meeting and wrote letters to county commissioners. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t have offsets, but 1,000 [feet] is not within reason,” he argued. “When they start doing that, then they’re telling me what I can’t do on my property, which means that affects the ability for me to manage my land as I see fit.”

Allen County Commissioners ultimately voted to maintain an overly restrictive ordinance, but the story doesn’t end there. Rallying the same network, SUN generated dozens of attendees and speakers to encourage the City of New Haven (located within Allen County) to support a solar-friendly ordinance. In December, New Haven officials passed the ordinance unanimously. While the fight continues at the county level, our win in New Haven demonstrated that municipalities can act independently to advance solar.

Success in Our Sites

“SUN operates in a lot of red and purple states. If we want to see a lasting impact on solar policy in these states, we have to engage in rural communities, and we have to engage in these rural siting conversations,” shared Brian.  

The growth of our rural Indiana coalition in 2025 illustrates the efficacy of our grassroots organizing. Transforming our energy system requires all voices to be heard, and our results in Indiana showcase what is possible when rural Hoosiers are welcomed into the movement and equipped with the tools to fight for their energy rights.