20-MW Solar Ground-Mount Planned for Georgia

Green Power EMC, the renewable energy supplier for 38 Georgia Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs), has reached an agreement to purchase the full output of a new 20-MW solar project planned for construction in southeast Georgia.

The ground-mounted solar project will be constructed near Hazlehurst, Ga., in Jeff Davis County.  It will be one of the largest solar generating facilities in Georgia.  The solar array will occupy approximately 135 acres and will incorporate over 87,000 solar modules. Once completed, the solar array will generate more than 43,000 megawatt hours of clean, renewable electricity annually.

Under an agreement with owner-operator Silicon Ranch Corporation, Green Power EMC will receive all the energy produced by the solar project over a 25-year period.  Construction is scheduled to begin this year, and the facility will be ready to produce electricity in late 2015.

Jeff Pratt, president of Green Power EMC, said the Hazlehurst project is the result of a request for proposals issued in late 2013 to add more solar energy to Green Power EMC’s portfolio.  The company already purchases the output of two solar projects, a 115-kW rooftop array near Athens, Ga., and a 150-kW ground-mounted array near Warner Robins, Ga.

Pratt said the project will nearly double the total renewable capacity of Green Power EMC – from the current 32 MW to about 52 MW.

“This is a major solar power addition, not only to our portfolio but also to the state of Georgia,” Pratt said.  “The project moves us further down the road to becoming a much more sustainable state.”  According to Pratt, the 20 MW project will produce enough electricity to serve about 3,000 EMC households.

Silicon Ranch Corporation is a solar owner-operator and provides customized solar solutions based on the needs of its customers.  Silicon Ranch has been instrumental in assisting many of its customers accomplish numerous firsts in their marketplaces.  Silicon Ranch also owns and operates Georgia’s largest solar farm in Social Circle, Ga.

Matt Kisber, president of Silicon Ranch Corporation, said, “We are excited about the opportunity to partner with Green Power EMC and their members in deploying their first, large-scale solar array.  I commend the leadership and membership of Green Power EMC for creating this initiative to provide competitively priced, renewable power solar generation to their Georgia membership.”

— Solar Builder magazine

[source: http://solarbuildermag.com/news/20-mw-solar-ground-mount-planned-georgia/]