Sunflower County will be the home to a 100-megawatt solar panel farm after the Mississippi Public Service Commission voted unanimously this week to approve the Entergy-led project that will be constructed near the town of Ruleville.
According to a release from the Mississippi Public Service Commission on Tuesday, the commission voted unanimously to approve the project that will allow Sunflower County Solar Project LLC to construct and for Entergy to acquire, own, operate, improve and maintain the solar photovoltaic facility, which will be located on about 1,000 acres in the northern section of the county.
The vote comes after a host of county, municipal and business leaders expressed support for the project.
“Congratulations to the county and regional team that worked over the Easter weekend to facilitate passage of this project,” said Fred Washington, Sunflower County Economic Development Director.
PSC Commissioner Brent Bailey (Central District), District 30 State Rep. Tracey Rosebud, District 31 State Rep. Otis Anthony, Sunflower County Supervisor Gloria Dickerson (District 5), Shirley Edwards, Mayor of Ruleville, Haley Fisackerly, President and CEO of Entergy of Mississippi, Edwin Garner, Director of Entergy Business and Economic Development, Walton Gresham, Sunflower County Economic Development Board of Trustees and Washington and his team worked to get this project approved.
The project was first announced in November 2018.
“We’re happy to have commission approval to move forward,” said Fisackerly,. “The Sunflower Solar Facility will be key in helping us meet changing customer expectations. It will give us more sustainable ways to meet our customers’ energy needs while diversifying our fuel supply.”
Entergy’s partner in the project is Recurrent Energy, a solar panel manufacturer, which will build the facility.
Completion of the project is slated for no later than mid-2022, at which point Entergy will assume ownership of the solar panel farm.
The project will be a single-axis tracking photovoltaic power generator, a release from Entergy said.
Its 350,000 PV modules will be able to generate 100 megawatts of clean energy, enough to power more than 16,000 homes, according to Entergy.
“I am excited to join my fellow Commissioners in unanimously supporting the Sunflower County Solar Project,” Commissioner Bailey said. “This project will expand the tax base for Sunflower County, create jobs in the Central District and provide Entergy customers all across the state with the net benefits from a cost-competitive, clean energy resource. I hope this is the first of many more projects in the Central District that will diversify our energy resources, integrate innovative technologies and create resiliency across the electric generation fleet.”
Fisackerly told The E-T back in December that the company could invest as much as $150 million in this project, and while a small number of jobs will be created for operational purposes on the solar farm, Entergy may employ as many as 300 people during the construction phase.
