Huntingburg resident challenges AES battery size, council weighs hoarding ordinance

A Huntingburg resident told the city council he reviewed Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission records and believes the AES battery energy storage system planned in the region is larger than filings indicate, prompting calls for clarity over project size and local impacts.

At the Feb. 10/11 Huntingburg City Council meeting, resident Dave Duncan cited IURC documents in a dispute over capacity figures. Dubois County Free Press reporting summarizes the claims this way: documents from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission show AES stated it would install a 340 megawatt-hour battery system. But Duncan says the company is installing a 515 megawatt-hour system - 175 megawatt-hours more than what he says IURC documents indicate. Other briefing notes from the meeting present a related but different framing that Duncan said IURC records indicate a 515 MWh installation. The underlying IURC filings and any AES statements were not included in the council coverage released with these reports.

AES has engaged with nearby municipalities: Dubois County Free Press also reported that AES answered questions from the Town of Holland about the Crossvine Solar Battery Energy Storage System, indicating the developer has provided information to other local governments. Huntingburg officials have not released comparable filings at the council meeting, and council members did not receive an AES statement during the public comment period summarized in the reports.

Council business that night included consideration of a proposed hoarding or abandoned-property ordinance. City Attorney Phil Schneider described the proposal as a public-health measure: “It truly is a public health concern and when we can address that with an ordinance like this I think we do service to the citizens of Huntingburg.” The ordinance, as reported, would define hoarding as excessive accumulation of personal property that poses risks including fire hazards, blocked emergency access, and unsanitary conditions. Property owners would have 30 days after notice to remedy violations, face escalating daily fines for noncompliance, and could appeal citations within ten days to the board of public works and safety. Schneider also explained procedural protections, saying, “Code enforcements judgement and the board of public works judgement might be different from the homeowners judgement but the property owners will have an opportunity to litigate between the office public works. So there’s built in safety guards to protect people’s interest in their own private property.” The council scheduled a tentative vote on the ordinance for March 11th; no enforcement start date was set in the coverage.

Residents from the Hunters Crossing neighborhood raised repeated fireworks complaints during Citizens Items, reporting frequent detonations, debris in yards, and safety worries. Meeting coverage quoted the local report that “The police have been called numerous times by residents on this issue, but, as there is no set ordinance in the Huntingburg city limits, and these times are within the State of Indiana’s regulated window of no fireworks from 11 PM to 9 AM next day, the City of Huntingburg Police Department cannot legally demand that these residents refrain from lighting these fireworks.” Mayor Neil Elkins thanked speakers: “We appreciate people coming forward, and asking questions… We need to be challenged sometimes.” WJTS also cited the National Fire Protection Association: “Fireworks were the catalyst of an estimated 19,500 fires in 2018.”

For Huntingburg residents this sequence of council items ties local quality-of-life issues to questions about regional energy infrastructure and municipal authority. The AES capacity dispute centers on two explicit figures, 340 MWh and 515 MWh, and a 175 MWh gap that requires verification from IURC filings and a response from AES. The council’s tentative March 11th vote on the hoarding ordinance provides a clear next milestone, and council meetings are held in the Huntingburg City Hall Council Chamber at 5:30 PM EST on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month for anyone seeking to follow or comment on these matters.