INFRASTRUCTURE

Strategy 3: Support growth with necessary technologies and renewable energy sources desired by new residents and businesses.

Sustaining long-term economic growth in a community comes from fostering the development of ideas and the creation of new businesses from existing regional assets. Traditional economic development is still a critical component for growth in a community. However, it needs to be supplemented by fostering entrepreneurs and connecting investors and makers to grow emerging technologies. By embracing growing technologies, the IND15RPC region can better differentiate itself from comparable communities it may be competing with regarding job and resident attraction efforts. This includes supporting growth with necessary technologies like broadband internet service and replacing electrical energy generated in coal-fired power plants with renewable energy from solar farms. Having an electric energy system supplied increasingly through renewable energy may make the region more competitive in attracting desired industries.

Reduce Water Demand

Although residential, commercial, and industrial water consumption accounts for a smaller percentage of overall water use when compared to irrigation, it is still an important consideration in long-term community health and well-being. As communities achieve business attraction and residential development goals, water consumption will increase. Water use can vary greatly by industry; for example, a logistics warehouse uses very little water while a food processor may use significant amounts. Whether the end users are industrial or residential, waterconserving strategies and technologies can have tremendous benefits for both the water service providers and customers.

Strategies to reduce water demand can focus on limiting consumption through various regulations, prices, or technologies such as water-efficient washing machines; reuse and recycling of water such as using treated wastewater for irrigation purposes; and elimination of wasteful practices such as leak identification systems or smart controllers that are able to reduce water use to only what is needed. Water providers in the IND15RPC region should promote and utilize all of these strategies to reduce water demand and improve regional sustainability efforts. Reduced water use saves customers money and may prevent costly system capacity upgrades as new users come online.

Solar Energy

The IND15RPC region, in coordination with the Southwestern Indiana Development Corporation (SWIDC) and Indiana First Region, is promoting a future hub for renewable energy through the development of utilityscale solar farms. With declines in both coalfired electrical generation and the mining industry, large portions of the IND15RPC region face serious job and tax revenue losses. New utility-scale solar installations will help offset tax revenue losses as coal-fired plants close and their assessed valuations plummet. Additionally, jobs in the growing solar industry may help offset energy and extraction industry losses. The region is well-positioned to contribute toward the planned increase in energy diversity due to an abundance of undeveloped and underutilized land. Solar farms are an attractive potential use on reclaimed mining land.

Broadband Infrastructure

Reliable, high-speed internet access is a required infrastructure and quality-of-life amenity that is needed to attract and retain residents and support entrepreneurship and workforce development. Broadband facilitates greater access to education through distance learning programs as well as increased remote employment opportunities. It is critical in supporting educational goals, especially through virtual learning programs. Students without adequate internet access face a digital divide that may prevent them from keeping pace with peers that do have internet access, both with continued virtual education and in the classroom. Additionally, as telemedicine services become more heavily used by healthcare providers, broadband access can support better care. Finally, high-speed internet can open new doors to entertainment and communication options like movie and television streaming and various social media platforms. IND15RPC staff should work with member counties, cities, and towns to become Broadband Ready Communities as certified by the state. Similarly, staff should also work with area broadband providers and encourage them to pursue funding through the Next Level Connections Broadband Program.