That's enough to provide electricity for about 220,000 homes in Louisiana, according toestimatesfrom the Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group, and would constitute about a quarter of Entergy Louisiana's current total power production. Commissioner Foster Campbell, North Louisiana representative on the LPSC, said the Bayou Galion Solar Project will generate 98 megawatts of clean, renewable Silicon Valley has been the main high tech and venture capital hub in the US for decades. 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E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) announced the signing of a long-term renewable energy off-take agreement with Southwestern Electric Power Company Louisiana farmers already have complained that they cannot compete with the per-acre lease price solar companies are willing to pay for land. They could be looking to add renewable power generation on their own often expansive landholdings, potentially adding a future wrinkle to the land use questions raised by solar sites. Looking for a local installer? DESRI will be the long-term owner and operator. One, released in June 2020, is for 300 megawatts. Fervo Energy Plans Direct Air Capture Facility Powered By Geothermal Heat & Electricity, 2023 Global Energy Trends: Crisis, Contingencies, & Climate Change (Video Included! The project includes 199 MW Sundance, 287 MW Maverick and 998 MW Traverse wind projects. Solar development is largely in its infancy in Louisiana, with only a handful of projects having been constructed to date. LSU baseball analytics: What technology, data do the Tigers use? The cost of decommissioning is born by the developer.". Two solar farms are near completion in St. Complete our National Solar Database Survey! If both end up completed, the projects would represent a nearly 400% increase in the states total installed solar capacity, which currently sits at roughly 190 MW, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). "Solar projects represent an excellent community development opportunity for our rural parishes. The state has approved all of the solar farms proposed for economic incentives so far. 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. Entergy noted that new requests for proposals are expected in the coming years as part of a recurring series of RFPs for renewable resources to support ongoing Entergy Louisiana energy needs to capitalize on the improving economics of solar and potentially offer other technologies relative to conventional resources.. New solar farm in West Baton Rouge with Entergy electricity contract sold; more under construction, Lafayette Utilities System trying to go green with solar energy push; seeking proposals, West Baton Rouge leaders pump brakes on solar farm construction to address resident complaints, With more solar farms in the works, West Baton Rouge leaders move to require permits, A reeling Louisiana oil and gas industry anticipates another setback: Loss of federal subsidies, Economic incentives unanimously approved for $410M ExxonMobil project, new $308M solar farm, New $98M solar farm pitched in Louisiana as utilities look to buy more renewable power, Louisiana businesses face reality of no new federal offshore leases anytime soon. Shaw Investments are under construction: the Iris project in Washington Parish on LSU AgCenter property and in St. James Parish totaling another 70 megawatts of solar power for the grid in 2021. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. The $89 million project would produce 80 megawatts of power, support 250 construction jobs and employ one person once completed in 2023. In St. James, the solar farms are popping up in a parish where, for several years, new petrochemical and oil storage facilities, like Formosa, Petroplex, Wanhua, South Louisiana Methanol and others, have been proposed in primarily Black communities, riling environmentalists and some residents. D.E. An economic impact assessment from D.E. Parish officials hope to create new land use rules for the solar facilities. Some of the groups involved in the fight over industrial operations, like the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, say the parish should apply the same level scrutiny over petrochemical plants as it's applying to solar farms. 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. That meeting marked the first time that the 23 representatives of industry, environmental groups, various state communities, state government officials and scientists met to create a greenhouse gas reduction strategy that would result in the state's emissions dropping by between 25% and 28% by 2025, and meet a "net zero" emissions goal by 2050. WebTo date, we operate solar projects in 27 states, and Tangipahoa will be one of the first solar projects in Louisiana. 2023 Entergy is following a similar plan to hit "net-zero" emissions by 2050 and stop the use of coal that represents 4% of its owned and leased electricity generation portfolio. Wind projects create an average of 0.9 jobs/MW (50 projects/7,125 megawatts), and Louisiana (49 projects/6,714 megawatts). Overall, D.E. 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. Solar facilities also help diversify Louisianas electric generation sector. Shaw Investments is supporting seven utility-scale projects in Louisiana, while eight other businesses from startups to big players from inside and outside the United States are behind nine other large-scale solar projects in various stages across the state. This information came from an advance notification filed with Louisianas economic development office. Thibodaux Solar is owned by Kansas City, Missouri-based Savion Energy, which has more than 100 solar projects in various stages across 27 states. 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. John Bel Edwards, the Deep Souths only Democratic governor, brought together people from across a broa. Solar developers seem unfazed by the prospect of any hurdles and continue to be bullish on the future potential while rural parish economic development officials look forward to flipping agricultural land into industrial taxes.. The nearly 600 megawatts of electricity the Entergy-linked solar farms will generate for the power grid would match the production of one smaller-scale natural gas-fired power plant and be a small portion the power produced in the state. Neither of those companies were the original developer of the project. Other questions:subscriberservices@theadvocate.com. Likewise, major corporations that are big users of electricity are looking to be more environmentally friendly by sourcing more of the power they use from the sun, wind or water. "I think there's a point to where, you know, you don't want to have this just all over the parish and every time you turn around, you're seeing a solar farm," King said. 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. Read our policy. It has also reached power agreements with the Iris Solar and Sunlight Road Solar complexes in Washington Parish, the Capitol Region Solar complex in West Baton Rouge and others. The latest plans roughly double the number of solar power projects planned in Louisiana to more than a dozen. The farm is located just north of La. WebFor more detailed information on certain projects, click the links below. Solar power companies are proposing another seven large-scale solar-power projects valued at about $1 billion in rural areas of southeast Louisiana at a time when the fledgling industry has drawn objections from rural residents and the scrutiny of parish officials, state lawmakers and regulators. Bayou Galion by itself will generate enough power to supply more than 20,000 homes. The projects will create more than 5000 jobs and avoid more than 900,000 tons of CO2 Madrid, 1 March 2023 Lightsource bp, a world leader in the development and You have permission to edit this article. Walmart, for example, has sustainability goals and a sizable footprint in Louisiana. 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. Meanwhile, utilities and businesses are pursuing renewable sources of energy to help counter their use of power generated from fossil fuels. 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. The Rocking R Solar Project will be a 72.5-MWAC facility in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, which is anticipated to come online in late 2024. New Orleans plummets, Baton Rouge hits bottom of national clean energy rankings. Walmart has been at the table for discussions through the Louisiana Public Service Commission about the potential for what is called a green tariff option that allows customers to tie their electricity purchases to renewable energy sources. Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of millions of monthly readers. Complete our National Solar Database Survey! 50 MW solar facility consisting of approximately 197,000 solar panels Location: West Baton Rouge Parish Completed: October 2020 Projected to bring approximately $6.4 million in tax revenue to the region over the next 30 years The farm is located just north of La. Pointe Coupee Parish President Major Thibaut has been through the approval of a large solar facility in Ventress, the worries from his parish's large agricultural base and the creation of an ordinance addressing some of those issues. 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. San Francisco-based Ecoplexus, which owns 400 megawatts, looks to build Bueche PV1 LLC and Willis Pond PV I LLC. I am confident that it will provide reliable and inexpensive power to these Louisiana co-ops for years to come.. That solar movement in Louisiana, for now, is being driven by Entergy Louisiana as the purchaser of electricity through long-term contracts with companies that are building and operating solar farms. For example, a 20-megawatt solar farm in New Orleans added about $1.50 to the monthly bill of ratepayers there. All Rights Reserved. You have permission to edit this article. You have permission to edit this article. Vacherie Solar Energy Center is proposed at the intersection of La. Galehead boasted one project with a "Southeastern U.S.-based landowner who owns approximately 400,000 acres across 500 distinct parcels spanning four states." 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 50-megawatt (MW) system is located in West Baton Rouge Parish, and it is now owned and operated by Helios. 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. There are various owners from around the world involved in the projects, some of the next-generation of wildcatters leasing land on the speculation projects can be financed, developed and the electricity generated can be sold to the highest bidder. Bogalusa West PV I LLC seeks to spend $200 million on a 200-megawatt solar project in Bogalusa, near La. For example, there are more than two dozen solar projects being pitched for Louisiana, according to a grid operator planning map. Email David J. Mitchell at dmitchell@theadvocate.com. Entergy, which has been mostly interested in solar farms in southeast Louisiana, is one of Louisianas utilities that have been looking to buy renewable energy. 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. The officer of the Louisiana incorporated business is John Clifford, an executive at Galehead, records show. 3127 and west of La. "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. Shaw's hedge fund is known among those in California's Silicon Valley and has prominent investors but is managed by an external board of executives. Entergy noted that it is exploring using existing coal facilities for solar generation or solar generation with gas-powered backup under a directive from a Louisiana Public Service commissioner. But Dufresne has taken a more cautious approach with the solar farms now seeking to set up on agricultural land, worried about eating up swaths of irreplaceable riverside land for solar complexes that produce few permanent jobs. Some also called into question the local officials authority to grant the specific type of zoning exemption that was granted. This site uses cookies. Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Five of D.E. 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. The second recently opened for 500 megawatts of power. Bayou Galion, which is also a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, estimated that it would create three permanent jobs to run the solar farm and support 150 construction jobs starting in July 2022. How to build a hurricane proof solar unit. 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. Thibodaux Solar is not yet registered in Louisiana but is in Delaware, incorporated in mid-June this year as a shell business. Solar projects like this are being developed all over the state and nation, and they are a critical new part of our countrys energy industry.. 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. ), BidenHarris Administration Announces $74 Million to Advance Enhanced Geothermal Systems, In 2021, 20% Of Electricity In The US Was Generated From Renewable Sources, Stellantis Takes On Two Partners To Reduce EV Production Emissions, Guiding Principles For EV Battery Recycling Policy, NIO Builds Battery Factory, CATL Reacts, Lithium Prices Implode, Central Heat Pump Water Heaters Can Act As Massive Water Batteries, Seattle Pilot Project Shows, Li-Cycle Scores $375 Million DOE Battery Recycling Development Loan, A Conversation on the Latest and Greatest on Vanadium Batteries (Video), PG&E Will Test Tesla & Sonnen Virtual Power Plant Technology, Sonnen & TenneT Power German Grid With Electric Cars, 1st Virtual Power Plant from SolarEdge Supporting UK Grid, Google, Ford, GM, & Solar Companies Partner To Promote Scaling Of Virtual Power Plants, Vehicle-To-Grid Solutions Could Open Fast Lane To Net-Zero Future, Breaking Barriers to Home Electrification Through the EAS-E Prize, We Spend $850 a Year on Clean Energy for Our Home & Car (One Fifth the National Average). A second solar project of previously unforeseen capacity could be coming to Louisiana, as local officials in Calcasieu Parish on Lake Charles, midway between New Orleans and Houston, Texas, have approved a zoning exception for developer Aurora Solar, a subsidiary of Avangrid Renewables. WebTo date, we operate solar projects in 29 states, and the Beauregard Solar Project will be among the first solar projects in Louisiana. "Even if the electricity were sold to an off-taker outside the state the economic benefits would stay in the parish," said Bryan Garner, director of communications for NextEra Energy Resources. 20. This summer, Cleco sought help from an independent consultant to structure its new venture into building a solar farm portfolio, according to Louisiana Public Service Commission records. 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. 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