The company estimates tax revenue for Beauregard Parish at $26 million over the "lifetime" of the project. NEW ORLEANS (AP) Solar power companies are looking to build at least seven big projects in rural Louisiana, including three in one unincorporated community. It could produce 50 megawatts of power. It is planning a Add to that, more than 100 megawatts of electricity already being generated from privately-owned solar panels sitting on the rooftops of individual residences or on commercial buildings. By 2022 Entergy expects to have 381 megawatts of solar in its Arkansas portfolio.. Local elected leaders will direct these new tax revenues to meet their current or future needs," LED Secretary Don Pierson said in the statement. Some parishes have sought more control over solar project development, even going so far as to issue moratoriums on incentives and require special permitting.. There is a seventh solar project on the books not yet seeking incentives. You have permission to edit this article. MASSIVE Electric Bike Buyers Guide All the Biggest Brands & Models, NIO ES8 The Chinese Electric SUV Outselling The Tesla Model X, Nukes, Renewables, and the Union of Concerned Scientists, Reality Check Correcting the Cleantech Record, Solar Panel Installers Top Solar Panel Installers & How To Evaluate Them, Switching to an Electric Fleet Learn About Charging, Payments, & More, Testimonials: Why Readers Love CleanTechnica. This site uses cookies. Tripp Roy, director of development for D.E. Along the Mississippi River, St. James' large tracts of agricultural land with roads, rail, pipeline and power have made the parish one of Louisiana's hot spots for industrial growth with the generally cheap natural gas prices of the past 10 to 15 years. Bayou Galion Solar Projfect LLC, which is a subsidiary of Recurrent Energy Development Holdings, proposed building a 98.1-megawatt solar farm on 1,000 acres leased from landowners outside of Bastrop. Created by, the average costs for installing solar in Louisiana. Our DESRI team is pleased to partner with SWEPCO to deliver cost-effective clean power to customers across Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, said Hy Martin, chief development officer of DESRI. In the Gulf South, however, the large, open tracts of agricultural land allow for a cheaper upfront cost to set up capital intensive solar installations near a market and on an existing electrical grid with a growing demand for renewable power, Dismukes noted. Of the 16 solar power farms proposed in Louisiana, nearly half are controlled by an East Coast hedge fund with an appetite for solar and wind projects contained in a growing $15 billion renewable power portfolio. WebWashington, D.C. Today, Helios Infrastructure (Helios), a joint venture between Nationwide and Sol Systems, announced its acquisition of the largest solar power project in Louisiana. Shaws Louisiana projects are among a much larger nationwide portfolio controlled by the hedge fund producing more than 2,900 megawatts of power generated from the sun and more than 500 megawatts from wind, records show. The farm, owned by the hedge fund D.E. Capital Region Solar Project . 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Shaw Renewable estimates the first 2,100 acres of the new solar complexes in St. James would spur around 300 temporary construction jobs and around $14.4 million combined in initial sales tax collections and property tax collections over the next 10 years. Observers and analysts say the solar farms are being driven into rural Louisiana because of the simple economics of cheaper power and the broader drive to stem climate change, which a United Nations panel said in February would amount to an existential threat to south Louisiana over the next half century. The project would support 160 construction jobs and create five jobs once built by 2024. The new and previously disclosed projects would cover tens of thousands of acres of largely farm and timber land, leased from landowners. Grid Constraints Stymie New Projects With many utilities and states in the Midwest and South (Louisiana most recently) aiming for 100 Amazon is planning solar farms in St. Landry and Morehouse parishes as part of the online giants efforts to be entirely dependent on renewable energy by 2025. Lafayette Utilities System is seeking to diversify its power sources into renewable energy by purchasing up to 300 megawatts of solar power. Other questions:subscriberservices@theadvocate.com. Bayou Galion Solar Project LLC will build the Morehouse Parish solar plant. Other questions:subscriberservices@theadvocate.com. Johnna owns less than one share of $TSLA currently and supports Tesla's mission. D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) announced the signing of a long-term renewable energy off-take agreement with Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO). Meanwhile, utilities and businesses are pursuing renewable sources of energy to help counter their use of power generated from fossil fuels. Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - In a press release Tuesday, Entergy Louisiana announced it will be purchasing 475 megawatts of additional solar power from four solar facilities across the state. Shaw's projects are in St. James Parish; its other two are in Washington Parish. The Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) has approved a power purchase agreement for the 132 MW DC /98 MW AC Bayou Galion solar project developed Entergy Louisiana is purchasing the power generated by Capital Region Solar, a 50-megawatt solar plant constructed in West Baton Rouge Parish, under a 20-year San Francisco-based Ecoplexus, which owns 400 megawatts, looks to build Bueche PV1 LLC and Willis Pond PV I LLC. Fact check:False claim that replacing cornfields with solar panels exacerbates climate change. That's being driven by environmental, social and corporate governance initiatives that institutional investors have embraced and by customer demand, he said.. In the St. James community of Vacherie, two proposed solar projects, SJ Louisiana Solar and Vacherie Solar Energy Center, would cover 3,900 acres of west-bank sugar cane fields and add to an existing 210-acre complex known as St. James Solar. The project has drawn significant opposition from locals, however with more than 1,000 names being presented in opposition at the zoning meeting. Thats right, Louisianas politicians who are owned by the fossil fuel industry suspended financial incentives for utility-scale solar projects. Some votes head to rural residents. Mostly through subsidiary Entergy Louisiana, Entergy has reached power agreements for the more than 4,200 acres of solar projects built or proposed in St. James. The Iris Solar project in Washington Parish and St. James Solar project in St. James Parish represent the largest solar facility currently under construction in Louisiana The St. James Solar farm in Vacherie collects the rays of the sun and turns them into power for the New Orleans area on Thursday, July 7, 2022. "It's been a pretty amazing transformation of our industrial customers over the past couple years about their sustainability goals.". The other such installation is the 345 MW Ventress Solar project, set to start construction by the end of this year and slated for completion in 2023. You have permission to edit this article. St. Jacques Solar LLC is proposing a 120-megawatt solar project in Vacherie, looking to spend $134 million supporting 300 construction jobs and one position once done in 2024. The subsidiary serves the Mississippi River corridor, including St. James, metro Baton Rouge and much of Louisiana outside New Orleans. The Chalkley Solar Project has raised the ire of Calcasieu Parish who are worried about the projects size, appearance, and environmental impact. Nearly 1 In 3 Homes In Australia Covered In Solar Panels, In Ultrathin Layers, NREL Researchers Find A Path To Better Materials, Solar Installation Growth Expected to Reach 700 GW by 2025, Green Hydrogen Project Is New Worlds Biggest, Utility-Scale Wind, Solar PV, & Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Increased From 467 MW In 2013 To 6,230 MW In 2022 In South Africa, Energy Security Amid Heightened Global Tensions. Together, the projects represent the largest solar facility currently under construction in Louisiana and will produce a combined 70 MW of power. Following state regulatory approvals, AEP will file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for approval to transfer the projects from Invenergy. The solar arrays are massive, with hundreds of thousands of individual panels collecting sunlight to generate electricity sent to the power grid. 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Legal Notice Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy pv magazine 2023, Welcome to pv magazine USA. To make that happen, the company expects in the future to stop using coal at Nelson 6 in Louisiana and at its Arkansas coal plants by 2030. The governor's office announced that it has asked the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which oversees offshore oil leasing in the Gulf of Mexico, to create a federal, state and local task force to develop wind farms off the state's coastline. Rocking R represents DESRIs first contract with SWEPCO, DESRIs first solar project in northern Louisiana, and the first utility-scale solar project built in the parish. Percentage of State's Electricity from Solar: 62 (5 Manufacturers, 29 Installers/Developers, 28 Others), 2,816 MW over the next 5 years (ranks 15th). With utilities such as Entergy, Cleco and LUS looking to buy renewable energy, another solar farm is being proposed in Louisiana. Kontiki Holdings LLC. ", Rural Louisiana residents will vote on more tax breaks for solar farms popping up across the state., Most of the projects are seeking Industrial Tax Exemption Program incentives, which could be up to 80% property tax abatement up to 10 years. As in St. James, the solar farms in Washington Parish are expected to improve local tax collections. Amid public opposition, the parish Planning Commission denied them in May. But that's what Entergy Mississippi is doing with their green pricing programs and I think there's a push to do that in Louisiana as well, a premium on top of your existing bill for a percentage of renewable resources. Of those that showed permanent jobs, four projects would create one job each; two of them five each; and another three permanent jobs. EDP RENEWABLES:A U.S. subsidiary of Portuguese electric utilities giant Energias de Portugal is behind a $78.5 million solar project in Morehouse Parish near Bastrop. Dufresne said he isn't against green energy and recognizes the short-term revenue benefits, but said he is looking at another bottom line. Smoke from burning sugar cane fields creeps into this part of the West Baton Rouge Solar Farm. WebWe are planning to build, own and operate a privately funded $170 million renewable energy project that will deliver electricity into the local grid, helping with Louisianas energy independence and energy security. All Rights Reserved. WebNotable Installations in Louisiana LA3 West Baton Rouge Solar Facility in West Baton Rouge was developed by DEPCOM and came online in 2020. Parish officials are worried the expanded solar farms could displace future homes, commercial businesses or industrial plants on the prime land near the Mississippi River. Kontiki was registered in Delaware as of August 2020 on behalf of Next Era, which is the publicly traded umbrella company for utilities such as Florida Power and Light, records show. This 74.5 MW project produces enough electricity to power 7,991 homes. So far, D.E. SWEPCOs long-term plan calls for more than one-third of its Southwest Power Pool accredited capacity to be satisfied with wind and solar resources. The farm is located just north of La. The farm, owned by the hedge fund D.E. "The calls for further evaluation by the Council is especially rich given how freely its members have allowed the petrochemical industry to expand in majority Black areas.". Shaw solar farms, said he and many of his constituents accustomed to the parish's pastures and forests don't want to see too many more solar panels popping up even with the new ordinance in place. Kelsey is managing editor of Solar Power World and host of the Contractor's Corner podcast. Note: This story has been updated to accurately reflect the spelling ofAndersen Windows and Doors., Solar power companies are proposing another seven large-scale solar-power projects valued at about $1 billion in rural areas of southeast Loui. . Capital Region Solar is a planned 50-MW facility being built in West Baton Recurrent was chosen by the 1803 Electric Cooperative to be part of its portfolio of energy-supply projects to satisfy the next 20 years of demand from five Louisiana rural electric co-ops: Claiborne Electric, Northeast Louisiana Power, Washington-St. Tammany Electric, South Louisiana Electric Cooperative and Beauregard Electric. Mooringsport and Wagon Wheel are expected to come online in December 2025. The West Baton Rouge Solar Farm being tied to Entergy has over 100,000 individual solar panels and is off Rosedale Road. "I think one of the big challenges that we're seeing here is that solar power, wind power or renewable energy shouldn't just mean a higher cost (for ratepayers)," said Jessica Hendricks, state policy director for the Alliance for Affordable Energy, a New Orleans-based nonprofit organization. Rural residents have complained the solar farms are unsightly. 2023 So, it's a way that doesn't tax or put on burden on our infrastructure like some other forms of economic development might require," he said. Currently, about 60% of Entergy Louisianas power comes from natural gas plants. WebTo date, we operate solar projects in 27 states, and Tangipahoa will be one of the first solar projects in Louisiana. In New Orleans East, the smaller 20-megawatt solar farm tied to Entergy cost $42 million, while a solar farm similar in size to the one in West Baton Rouge cost $78 million. Near Vacherie would be St. James Solar, 20 megawatts for $30 million; St. James Solar II, for which further information was not available; St. James Solar III, 90 megawatts for $100 million, Vacherie Solar Energy Center LLC, 80 megawatts for $89 million; and St. Jacques Solar, 120 megawatts for $134 million. Solar facilities also help diversify Louisianas electric generation sector. While some have welcomed the farms, several other parishes have tried to slow things down at least until better controls are in place. Rocking R is part of DESRIs growing portfolio of solar facilities in Louisiana, bringing the total contracted portfolio size to over 500 MW in the state. The state has approved all of the solar farms proposed for economic incentives so far. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. Campbell said the Recurrent solar plant was one of nearly 200 energy options considered by the 1803 Electric Cooperative. SWEPCO is seeking approval from regulators in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas to acquire the 200 MW Mooringsport solar project in Caddo Parish, La. The startup "identified the sites best suited to host a solar project" for the unidentified customer and is "actively working with this partner to develop a utility-scale solar project," according to its website. Its other two are in Washington Parish are expected to start construction and begin operation in.! Depcom and came online in December 2025 Rouge solar farm is being proposed in LA3... Some have welcomed the farms, several other parishes have tried to slow things down at least better! Purchasing up to 300 megawatts of solar power proposed for economic incentives so far give you best. Farm being tied to Entergy has over 100,000 individual solar panels and is Rosedale. Louisianas power comes from natural gas plants largest solar facility currently under construction in Louisiana 27 states, environmental. 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