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Community voices concerns about energy company; Clark County denies permit for solar farm

Some people said they were given short notice about this proposal and that they didn't know a lot about BrightNight.

CLARK COUNTY, Indiana — A company known as BrightNight wanted to install solar panels on 3,900 acres of Clark County farm land.

And more than 100 Clark County residents packed the Clark County Government Center on Wednesday to voice their opinions.

"According to my research solar panels are not to be placed in residential areas and not within 1.2 miles of a home," community member Janet Boyer said.

Presenters from BrightNight said the panels would cover less than 1,000 acres of their proposal.

"This project, regardless of that, the project doesn't create glare, reflection and so there is no kind of adverse impact from glare reflection," company spokesperson David Gil said.

Yet residents weren't buying it. Some said they were given short notice about this proposal and they didn't know a lot about the company.

"They're located in Florida, why do they want to come up here to Indiana," one woman asked.

Before the Clark County officials voted, BrightNight gave their final pitch as to why they should build their solar farm in southern Indiana.

"I appreciate all of the feedback," Gil said. "That makes us better developers, that makes us improve the project."

In the end, the board voted no against the solar farm.

Residents said they are happy the board listened to their concerns.

"I hadn't been able to sleep at night and I'm just glad that I'm going to get a good night's rest," community member Amber Garuccio said

In response to the denial tonight, BrightNight sent WHAS11 News a statement saying they "felt strongly that our project would provide incredible value to the area by delivering affordable, safe, and reliable electricity, our project would also create hundreds of jobs, and generate $100 million in tax revenue over the life of the project."

The company went on to say they hope to work in Clark County in the future and correct what they call misinformation presented at the meeting.

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