By Sheryl Swingley—
MUNCIE, IN—“You Can’t Put Solar Anywhere You Want” will be the topic of a League of Women Voters of Muncie-Delaware County public meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at the Kennedy Branch Library in Muncie. The program is free.
“The following question is often raised at governmental meetings in connection with solar, ‘Why can’t we put solar on brownfields, on the rooftops of government buildings or between and along highways?’,” said Sarah Williams, chairwoman of the League’s Natural Resources Committee. “One of the reasons it’s not economically feasible is that Indiana does not have a community solar law.”
Two speakers from Indianapolis and one from Delaware County will help area residents learn what community solar is and what the differences are among community, utility and residential solar.
They are Denise Abdul-Rahman, the environmental climate justice chairwoman for the Indiana NAACP, and Kerwin Olson, executive director of Indiana’s Citizen Action Coalition. The speaker from Delaware County is Joe Russell, a sixth generation farmer in Delaware County.
Abdul-Rahman advocates on behalf of communities that are affected by environmental climate injustice. She works to develop research, educate and engage the community and its leaders in the shaping of public policy to support equitable and sustainable communities. She recently served as a delegate to Paris, France, COP 21 Climate Change Agreement.
Denise Abdul-Rahman
Olson is CAC’s chief public policy spokesperson and CAC’s primary lobbyist at the Indiana Statehouse. He has been CAC’s executive director for more than 23 years. Previously he served as CAC’s program director, public outreach liaison and phone canvass director. He studied American history and political science at the University of Chicago.
Kerwin Olson
Today Russell farms in northern Delaware County with his two sons on their 105-year-old Centennial Farm. Russell graduated from Purdue University with a degree in civil engineering. He was a design engineer on the Trans Alaska Pipeline before returning to the family farm. Russell has been involved with energy policies and its interdependency with agricultural policies for five decades.
Joe Russell
