A floating solar energy project on a Plainfield Township pond previously touted as the first of its kind east of the Mississippi River is unlikely to move forward after the business case for the developer eroded in recent years.
Nearly four years ago, township officials entered into an agreement with California-based White Pine Renewables on the project, which was meant to supply power to the township’s water plant. The pond is a former gravel pit, known as the Coit Pit, just west of Northland Drive NE and north of Plainfield Avenue NE.
Since then, rising material costs because of tariffs and interest rates made the economic case for White Pine Renewables untenable. The likely upcoming and swift phaseout of federal clean energy tax credits further challenges the project…