"So you know before we just hurry up and jump up and approve all these things, we want to know what the long-term effect is going to be for St. James Parish," Dufresne said. 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. At least one company, San Francisco-based Ecoplexus, has emerged as a potential bidder for two of the three solar farms: a $308 million project in Pride in East Louisiana is a rare Deep South state with a climate plan. 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. In Louisiana, with its long hot summers and wet chilly winters, one megawatt powers the equivalent of 100 homes. Army Of Spiral-Welding Wind Turbine Tower Trucks Sets Forth FromTexas? 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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. Shaw Renewable Investments, is seeking to expand its solar operation on vacant fields like this one around the existing solar operation. ECOPLEXUS:A West Coast solar developer wants to drop $348 million across two solar projects in West Baton Rouge and East Feliciana parishes. In response to the latest round of projects seeking property tax and Quality Jobs program incentives, the Louisiana Economic Development department said in a statement that LED works to increase and retain jobs across all of Louisiana, including rural communities. Thibodaux Solar Project LLC looks to spend $200 million on a 200 megawatt solar farm in Lafourche Parish near Rosedown Drive and Levert Road in Thibodaux. KONTIKI HOLDINGS: A solar project in the town of Singer in Beauregard Parish owned by Kontiki Holdings LLC would span 1,970 acres and could produce 200 megawatts of electricity, at a construction cost of $145 million. 20. Here's a glance at the other proposed projects in the state and their developers: HELIOS INFRASTRUCTURE:Its 50 megawatt project cost $67 million to construct in West Baton Rouge Parish and is operational. NEW ORLEANS (AP) Solar power companies are looking to build at least seven big projects in rural Louisiana, including three in one unincorporated community. "We have a whole lot of interest from our customers," he said. 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. With utilities such as Entergy, Cleco and LUS looking to buy renewable energy, another solar farm is being proposed in Louisiana. Fact check:False claim that replacing cornfields with solar panels exacerbates climate change. Tim Sylvia was an editor at pv magazine USA. Gov. GALEHEAD: A planned 200 megawatt, $200 million solar project in Bogalusa known as Bogalusa West PV I LLC isbeing developed by Galehead, a clean-tech startup which does land developments for solar projects for clients. Copyright 2023 CleanTechnica. All Rights Reserved. Vacherie Solar Energy Center is proposed at the intersection of La. We've already went through the dairy farms having to sell out and shut down. Galehead boasted one project with a "Southeastern U.S.-based landowner who owns approximately 400,000 acres across 500 distinct parcels spanning four states." It is planning a $145 million solar project in Beauregard Parish to start construction in 2023 and wrap up in 2024, supporting 250 construction jobs and yielding three permanent jobs. Some also called into question the local officials authority to grant the specific type of zoning exemption that was granted. Shaw Renewable Investments, has two in Washington also,Iris Solar and Sunlight Road Solar, and is one of several firms eying farms across the state. 20. How to build a hurricane proof solar unit. By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment. The exception was issued for the Chalkley Solar Project, named for a historic local family who founded the company that is leasing the land to Aurora. "The cost to install has come down; the components and the financing costs have come down as it becomes more mature," he said, "and there's more interest from institutional investors." The farm, owned by the hedge fund D.E. You have permission to edit this article. Solar projects are similar to any other real estate development with landowners, leases and even property flippers active in the market. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. Created by, the average costs for installing solar in Louisiana. Though St. James Solar sailed through the approval process in 2019, the new, larger additions have run into headwinds. 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. Savion Energy's Thibodaux project would be $200 million of investment for 200 megawatts of solar power. Power from those farms would go to Entergy Louisiana, which supplies power to St. James, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and many other parts of the state. Solar power is clean, its cheap, and its a great way to make electricity, Campbell said. Local governments have been left to balance those concerns against the rights of landowners seeking lucrative solar leasing arrangements and the demand from utilities and big users, including major industrial operations, for more renewable power. Some votes head to rural residents. "Studying land use and the impact industry may have on the surrounding area is reasonable, but in states across the country and in regions around the world, solar enterprises have developed cooperative relationships with neighboring communities that have made both parties profitable," retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honor said in a statement. But it's unclear whether the addition of solar energy to the grid, the cheapest new construction electricity option on the market, would drive down electric bills for commercial and residential customers. With the exception of Petroplex, however, which would have been in residentially zoned areas in Vacherie near where the solar farms are proposed, critics haven't seen parish officials as willing to oppose the facilities, make changes to the land use plan that targeted new industry in majority Black areas or consider a call for a sweeping moratorium on new industry in 2019. Rural Louisiana could see 7 new large-scale solar projects worth nearly $1 billion; see map. Shaw Renewable Investments, supplies power to Entergy New Orleans. Parish officials hope to create new land use rules for the solar facilities. Other energy options chosen to be part of the 1803 collection include solar plants in central and south Louisiana, a gas-fired power plant to be built in Iberville Parish and a power-supply component by the Exelon Corp. Our commission staff took several months to review this plan, Campbell said. Who owns all these solar 'farms' across Louisiana? It could produce 50 megawatts of power. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled. The company said "as existing resources are retired, replacement capacity is expected to come primarily from new renewable technologies.". To put that 600 megawatts into perspective, solar power would amount to just 3% of the utility and public power generation capacity in Louisiana if it were part of the current mix compared to natural gas, 70.9%; nuclear power, 11.3%; coal, 9.6%; petroleum coke and liquids, 4.9%; and hydroelectric and biomass, 0.3%. The project includes 199 MW Sundance, 287 MW Maverick and 998 MW Traverse wind projects. 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. The project encompasses approximately 1,970 acres. Commissioner Foster Campbell, North Louisiana representative on the LPSC, said the Bayou Galion Solar Project will generate 98 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity on 1,080 acres near Mer Rouge. Ventress Solar is proposed near New Roads and would span 2,732 acres. Even without government subsidy, utility-scale projects of 10 megawatts of solar power and above, is the cheapest form of electricity, according to global research firm Lazard. 3127 and west of La. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS, Washingtons largest solar project now connected to grid, McCarthy opens new craft workforce center to train current and future workers, Renewables increased energy output by more than 12% in 2022, NREL: Western RTO would decrease cost of clean energy production, transmission. The Chalkley Solar Project, if approved, will become the second project in the 300 MW range coming to Louisiana, a state not historically known for its utility-scale solar. If all of them are built, the statewide total 1,908 megawatts is enough to power 190,800 homes, or a midsized city, based on estimates of 100 homes for each megawatt in a formulation used for Louisiana by the Solar Energy Industries Association.. Two solar farms controlled by New York-based D.E. Shaw Renewable, also known as DESRI, said his company does not plan to appeal the St. James Parish Planning Commission's ruling but may seek to reapply once new rules are known. Information on the projects was contained in documents seeking state economic incentives through the Industrial Tax Exemption Program for manufacturers, which could mean an 80% property tax abatement for up to 10 years on the projects if approved by the school boards, sheriffs and councils in those parishes. The officer of the Louisiana incorporated business is John Clifford, an executive at Galehead, records show. Five of D.E. 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 hedge fund, also known as DESRI, is seeking to expand around the 210-acre farm by 3,900 more acres in the area with different investors. The answers may surprise you. Science? "'Cause if it's so good, why not wait a year and let us tell our residents just how good it is.". D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) announced the signing of a long-term renewable energy off-take agreement with Southwestern Electric Power Company Diversion is expected to reach commercial operation in December 2024. Bogalusa West PV I LLC seeks to spend $200 million on a 200-megawatt solar project in Bogalusa, near La. It is planning a I would hate for that to be what Washington Parish is known for.". The projects could support 1,000 construction jobs if built, but yield only two full-time positions once completed. 20 and La. 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