Holland residents launch petition to stop proposed Crossvine solar project

Holland residents are pressing Dubois County to stop Crossvine before construction ever starts, arguing the proposed solar-and-storage site could change nearby land use, traffic patterns, views, and emergency risks on the edge of Huntingburg and Holland. The push has now moved beyond one neighborhood dispute, with petitioners warning the project could establish a precedent for future battery energy storage systems and commercial solar farms across the county.

Concerned Citizens of Holland, Indiana launched the petition on Change.org as local opposition intensified around the project site south of Huntingburg and west of Huntingburg Airport. Residents have focused especially on battery safety, setbacks from nearby homes and community facilities, decommissioning plans, and how first responders would handle a fire or other emergency at the site. Some opponents later pointed to the project’s proximity to schools and daycare centers as a reason county officials should review or revoke permits.

Crossvine is planned as an 85-megawatt solar facility paired with an 85-megawatt, four-hour battery storage system, equal to 340 megawatt-hours. AES Indiana says the project is expected to produce enough electricity for about 14,500 homes. The company also says construction is expected to begin in 2026 and the facility should be in service by mid-2027. AES has said the project was developed and permitted by Lightsource bp before AES Indiana took it over, and that it is meant to help meet rising power demand while supporting the utility’s clean-energy transition.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved the Crossvine project on April 9, 2025, clearing the way for the Dubois County proposal to advance. But approval at the state level did not end the local fight. By fall 2025, residents and county officials were openly raising questions about battery safety, setbacks, decommissioning, and communication from the company. In November 2025, Dubois County officials said they would hold a public meeting to answer concerns, and AES later brought a 10-page question-and-answer packet to a Holland Town Council meeting.

The petition effort reflects a larger tension now shaping the county’s solar debate: whether Crossvine is a single project drawing neighborhood pushback, or the start of a broader backlash to utility-scale solar and battery storage in Dubois County. With county commissioners, Holland officials, and residents still weighing how much control local government should have over future projects, Crossvine has become a test case for how far solar development can go before rural land use and public safety concerns trigger a stronger local response.