The Columbus Community Solar Initiative says it's trying minimize the cost of the solar panels by coordinating residents, businesses and others who are interested in taking part.

About 20 people who live near the proposed project pleaded with board members during a public meeting Monday night to consider the effect on their lives if the panels were erected.

In December IndyGo received the final shipment of its 21 fully electric buses and flipped the switch on a 1 Megawatt solar array.

That farm covers 10 acres with more than 4,200 solar photovoltaic panels that turn sunlight into electricity and feed that power into the local electrical grid.

Indiana regulators have approved a series of agreements that will allow Duke Energy to purchase 20 megawatts of power from four solar farms in the works around the state.