Mississippi Power is set to partner with two solar businesses and the US Navy in order to develop and construct two PV installations within the state.
The two projects — totaling 53MW in generation capacity — would stand as the largest PV installations to be built in Mississippi.
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Ed Holland, president and CEO of Mississippi Power, said: “We are excited to be a part of this partnership to develop cost-effective, utility-scale solar generation to enhance our portfolio. Together these new solar facilities can produce the amount of energy used annually by approximately 7,800 homes. We look forward to bringing these projects to completion following approval by the Public Service Commission.”
Mississippi Power will earn all of the energy and associated renewable energy credits produced by the plants, which it will then use to provide its customers with power, use for future projects or sell to third parties.
The company will team up with turnkey solar provider Strata Solar to develop a 50MW PV project located on 182 hectares of land at Hattiesburg-Forrest County Industrial Park, located near Hattiesburg.
Markus Wilhelm, CEO of Strata Solar, said: “Strata Solar is thrilled to be working with Mississippi Power on the project in Hattiesburg. Working with utilities to diversify their generation portfolios in a competitive manner with their traditional resources is a big part of our passion for what we do as a company. We are looking forward to getting this project under way.”
Mississippi Power is also collaborating with the US Navy and Hannah Solar at the Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport on a nine-hectare, 3-4MW plant. The project is part of the Navy's plan to meet its goal to generate or procure one gigawatt of renewable energy.
Capt. Paul Odenthal, commanding officer Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, said: “This innovative project represents a significant, cost-effective contribution toward the Navy's forward-leaning efforts to improve our national energy resilience through renewables. It is the result of much hard work and the strong relationship we have with our many community partners. We are happy to be part of this win-win initiative.”
If approved by the PSC, the projects could be operational by the end of 2016.