Green Power EMC, the renewable energy supplier for 38 Georgia Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs), and Silicon Ranch announced that the companies have come to terms on an agreement to develop a 252 MW portfolio of solar projects, all set to be located in Georgia.
The capacity is set to come across three separate installations, all of which Silicon Ranch will fund, construct, own, operate, and maintain, while Green Power EMC will purchase all the energy and environmental attributes generated by the facilities on behalf of its member cooperatives.
Snipesville III is expected to be the first project in the portfolio to reach commercial operation, a 107 MW slated for construction in Jeff Davis County, west of Savannah. Construction is expected to commence later this year, and the facility is scheduled to be operational by mid-2023. The site will be in close proximity to its two sibling projects: Snipesville I, and 86 MW installation which became active in December 2020, and Snipesville II, a 107 MW installation completed in December 2021.
The second project, chronologically, is set to be DeSoto II, a 65 MW solar facility located in Lee County, nearby to Jeff Davis County. Silicon Ranch expects to begin construction in late 2022 and plans to bring the facility online by late 2023. Much like the Snipes projects, DeSoto II will be built next to DeSoto I, a 250 MW installation that recently began construction. The DeSoto I facility will serve Walton EMC to support Meta’s Georgia operations.
Last but not least, the Ailey solar project will be an 80 MW solar facility located in Montgomery County, also west of Savannah. Silicon Ranch plans to construct the project in 2024 and projects the facility to be online later that year.
The companies also share that Silicon Ranch will focus on hiring local craft workers in Jeff Davis, Lee, and Montgomery Counties to construct the projects over the next three years, adding benefits to the community beyond the tax revenue they will provide.
Each of the projects will integrate Silicon Ranch’s Regenerative Energy model, through which the company co-locates solar energy production with regenerative agriculture practices. Upon completion and operation, Silicon Ranch will restore the land each project is located on to a functioning grassland ecosystem, managing any vegetative growth around the projects via sheep grazing using regenerative pastureland management practices.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Tim
What is the cost per kWh for solar electricity at these new plants? Cheaper all the time? Cheaper than wind??