How Doral’s Mammoth Solar project is transforming Indiana’s landscape
How Doral’s Mammoth Solar project is transforming Indiana’s landscape
Indiana, the state of agriculture and industry, is becoming a major hub for renewable energy production. The Israeli company Doral is building one of the largest solar fields in America in northern Indiana, and has brought on board veteran farmers and local government. Dori Davidovitz, Chairman of Doral: "We aim to be among the top three companies in the U.S. renewable market."
Israeli solar field changes agriculture in Indiana
(Tal Saar)
Pulaski County in northern Indiana lies about an hour and a half drive from Chicago's airport. The area is characterized by seemingly endless roads flanked by expansive corn and soybean fields. By late fall, the crops have been harvested, leaving much of the land bare. Here and there, a barn or farmhouse punctuates the horizon, along with numerous churches. As a deeply Republican state, Indiana showcases the aftermath of the recent election in flags bearing Trump’s familiar MAGA slogan. Yet amidst this traditional landscape, the glint of solar panels in the fields raises questions: how did this transformation occur?
“This is all private land,” says Nick Cohen, CEO of Doral LLC, while driving through the fields. “Even if you see a lake here, it probably belongs to someone.” This issue of private land ownership has been key to enabling Doral to establish solar farms like the "Mammoth Solar" project, which occupies leased parcels across Pulaski County. Norm Welker, the first farmer in the county to lease his land for solar panels, recalls how Cohen saw potential in the area’s vast tracts of land intersected by high-voltage power lines. “And we were off,” Welker says.
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Indiana governor Eric Holcomb (second from left) with Doral Leadership
(Photo: Maor Swisa)
The Mammoth Solar project spans 50,000 dunams—“about the size of Manhattan,” Cohen notes—and is being constructed in three phases. The first phase has already begun commercial operation, ahead of the company’s formal announcement last week. Once fully operational, Mammoth Solar will generate 1.6 gigawatts of power, much of which will fuel Indiana’s rapidly growing number of server farms built for global tech giants.
Farmers benefit not only from leasing their land to Doral but also through innovative practices like agri-voltaics, which allow them to continue farming under and around the solar panels. Farmer, shepherd, and pastor Billy Bope exemplifies this synergy. On his property, solar panels coexist with grazing sheep, alpacas, and miniature pigs. These animals help manage vegetation, preventing fires and ensuring the panels remain unobstructed by overgrown grass. Wearing a cap adorned with the Israeli and Indiana flags, Bope expresses pride in partnering with Doral, an Israeli company. “Thanks to this collaboration, my children can continue working on this farm after me,” he says.
Dori Davidovitz, Chairman of Doral, highlights the mutually beneficial relationship with local farmers. “We saw the potential in Indiana due to its vast areas and the economic challenges faced by farmers, which often led to younger generations abandoning agriculture,” he explains. CEO Yaki Noyman adds that cooperation with Republican farmers has proven instrumental. “Republicans have a huge incentive to support our projects because their voters are the ones benefiting directly,” he says, contrasting this dynamic with Trump’s earlier policies.
During a visit to Indianapolis, Indiana’s capital, the outgoing Republican governor, Eric Holcomb, hosted Doral’s team at his home. Holcomb, who has developed close ties with Doral, is an ardent supporter of renewable energy initiatives like Mammoth Solar. "We are an agricultural state, the most productive per capita in the U.S., and electricity generation is critical for us,” he states, emphasizing the importance of renewable energy for sustaining Indiana’s economy and advancing technological progress.
Holcomb notes the role of renewable energy in attracting tech companies focused on reducing carbon emissions. Many server farms being built in Indiana plan to source electricity from Mammoth Solar to meet environmental standards. This alignment has softened partisan divides over renewable energy projects, paving the way for similar initiatives by Doral and its competitors, including those harnessing wind power.
Nick Cohen draws a historical parallel to explain the shift in Indiana’s agricultural landscape. “In the past, oats were grown here to fuel horses. Then came corn and soybeans, powering vehicles with ethanol. Now, thanks to Mammoth, we’re growing electrons—the energy of the future,” he says.
With an expected $153 million in annual revenue from Mammoth’s first full year of operation, Doral’s ambitions extend far beyond Indiana. “We aim to be among the top three companies in the U.S. renewable market and, within 3-5 years, the most valuable Israeli company ever,” says Davidovitz.
The Mammoth Solar project stands as a testament to the transformative power of renewable energy, reshaping both Indiana’s agricultural heritage and its economic future while bridging political divides in pursuit of sustainability.
The reporter was a guest of Doral Energy on a tour of Indiana.
