Dufresne adds he worries what impact the loss of sugar cane acreage could have on local mills that also offer jobs, though some experts doubt DESRI's plans would have much more impact over broader trends cutting into agricultural acreage already. New Orleans plummets, Baton Rouge hits bottom of national clean energy rankings. 20 and La. Over the next three years, there could be enough solar-generated electricity in Louisiana to power 60,000 homes in a state rich with oil and gas and crisscrossed with pipelines. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com. Among the wind turbine developments D.E. 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%. Cleco and Lafayette Utilities System are also in the market for renewable energy. Shaw Renewable Investments, supplies power to Entergy New Orleans. ), 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). 21 and Parish Road 88. Louisianas first utility-scale solar farm, which is 50 megawatts, is in West Baton Rouge Parish and is being connected to the power grid under a 20-year power supply contract with Entergy, which has two open requests for proposals. https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2021/10/06/hurricane-resistant-solar-and-energy-storage-microgrid-to-be-built-in-puerto-rico/#respond Is this craw-fish country? Canadian Solar subsidiary Recurrent Energy is leading the development, a 98 megawatt project on 1,000 acres for $98 million. The solar farm has over 100,000 individual solar panels and is off of Rosedale Rd. Thibodaux Solar is not yet registered in Louisiana but is in Delaware, incorporated in mid-June this year as a shell business. 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. Wind got a plug recently during the opening session of a Climate Initiatives Task Force appointed by Gov. 3127 and west of La. D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) announced the signing of a long-term renewable energy off-take agreement with Southwestern Electric Power Company RECURRENT ENERGY:Outside of Bastrop in Morehouse Parish, a subsidiary of publicly traded Canadian Solar, which manufactures solar panels and constructs projects, is buildingBayou Galion Solar Project. Please be mindful of our community standards. The developer of the solar farms in St. James, D.E. So far, D.E. "As we retire our low-sulfur coal-powered generation, Entergy will evaluate the appropriate mix of replacement resources as part of our continued effort to reliably provide power at the lowest reasonable costs, while mitigating customers exposure to cost and reliability risks," Entergy has said. The company said "as existing resources are retired, replacement capacity is expected to come primarily from new renewable technologies.". Shaw is nearing completion of Iris Solar and the first St. James Solar project for an eventual tie-in to the power grid. Hesaid the number of commercial-scalesolar farms is greatly limited by the capacity of the electrical grid to handle them. Wind projects create an average of 0.9 jobs/MW (50 projects/7,125 megawatts), and Louisiana (49 projects/6,714 megawatts). The project would support 160 construction jobs and create five jobs once done in 2024.. Shaw has signed deals with utilities such as Entergy New Orleans,but also with business customers such as Facebook for solar projects out West. Complete our National Solar Database Survey! Ecoplexus has deals with customers such as Fortune 500 companies Medtronic and Ecolab, in addition to privately held businesses like Andersen Windows and Doors. This solar project will deliver economic development benefits to Caddo Parish and the surrounding communities for years to come.. 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. D.E. New York City-based D.E. Next Era Energy, which has a significant renewable energy portfolio, particularly solar, dubbed the project as Beauregard Solar. 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. ; the 200.6 However, some residents have pushed back to include a local permitting process. 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. "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. If utilities modernize the way they select the resources they run each day, they can save carbon and reduce energy prices. One, released in June 2020, is for 300 megawatts. Ecoplexus has done seven tax equity funds for financing 170 megawatts of solar projects worth $300 million since 2017. Dufresne's and other local officials' concerns reflect the unease that has arisen among some in rural Louisiana over the proliferation of solar farms over thousands of acres agricultural land. Kelsey is managing editor of Solar Power World and host of the Contractor's Corner podcast. Following state regulatory approvals, AEP will file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for approval to transfer the projects from Invenergy. One of Louisianas largest solar power projects ever is now under construction. 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. "'Cause if it's so good, why not wait a year and let us tell our residents just how good it is.". Solar power is clean, its cheap, and its a great way to make electricity, Campbell said. Email Kristen Mosbrucker atkmosbrucker@theadvocate.com. The Louisiana Public Service Commission has approved a large-scale solar energy project in Morehouse Parish as part of a new power agreement involving rural electric cooperatives. Complete our National Solar Database Survey! But King, whose Franklinton area district has the two D.E. Copyright 2023 WTWH Media, LLC. Entergy Corp.has emerged as an important source of solar power demand. Official SEIA State Affiliate - Gulf States Renewable Energy Industries Association (GSREIA), DSIRE Incentives Database - Louisiana - Search a public clearinghouse for specific solar energy incentives in Louisiana and across the United States, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources- Find a wide variety of information on state government energy programs, policy, projects, energy-saving strategies and energy-related statistics, Louisiana Public Service Commission - Learnabout the governing body that regulates the electricity rates and services of Louisiana public utilities, Louisiana State Legislature - Track pending legislation affecting solar energy, locate and contact individual legislators, and stay up to date on current legislative issues in Louisiana, Louisiana Solar Panels Overview- Learn about thehistory of solar policy in Louisiana, along with up-to-date pricing information onEnergySage, National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Louisiana, Solar Panel Cost in Louisiana- Learn about the history of solar policy in Louisiana, along withup-to-date pricing informationonEnergySage, Solar Rebates & Incentives in Louisiana- Check out EnergySage's list of keysolar incentives in Louisianato see what programs you can benefitfrom, U.S. Energy Information Administration Louisiana State Profile - Explore official energy statistics, including data on electricity supply and demand, from the U.S. government, 1All data from SEIA/GTM Research U.S. 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. "Solar is no longer experimental," the utility told the state Public Service Commission last month. "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." Other developers would have two projects each in West Baton Rouge and Morehouse parishes and one each in Washington, Pointe Coupee, Lafourche, East Feliciana and Beauregard parishes. Thats right, Louisianas politicians who are owned by the fossil fuel industry suspended financial incentives for utility-scale solar projects. Washington Parish officials are looking at infrastructure and recreation with the new money, Parish Council member Carley 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. A newly constructed 50-megawatt solar farm on 560 acres in West Baton Rouge Parish that has a supply contract with Entergy Louisiana has been . Tim covered project development, legal issues and renewable energy legislation, as well as contributed to the daily Morning Brief. Shaw was founded in 1988 by David E. Shaw, who holds a Ph.D. from Stanford and has expertise in computational biochemistry. Will state leaders follow through. John Bel Edwards, the Deep Souths only Democratic governor, brought together people from across a broa. "We have a whole lot of interest from our customers," he said. EDP Renewables has been investing in its own projects but also buying equity stakes in other projects across the U.S., such as a deal for a portfolio worth $119 million for 89 megawatts from C2 Omega LLC, according to a deal announced in January. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. There was a problem saving your notification. According to Auroras zoning exception application, the Chalkey project would use roughly one million solar modules and have a nameplate capacity between 300 and 400 MW. "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. For example, there are more than two dozen solar projects being pitched for Louisiana, according to a grid operator planning map. News item from D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments. In June, a new proposal process began and Entergy expects to start negotiations soon with companies interested in building three additional solar farms in West Baton Rouge, East Feliciana and Morehouse parishes, if power purchase contracts are awarded. Each project would support a range of 160 to 300 construction jobs, developers said. 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. Louisianas first utility-scale solar farm, which is 50 megawatts, is in West Baton Rouge Parish and is being connected to the power grid under a 20-year power 2023 www.thenewsstar.com. 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. 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. Dufresne, who has with some parish council members so far unsuccessfully called for a moratorium on new solar farms, gained authority last week to negotiate with the parish's third-party planning agency to study the economic and environmental impacts of solar in St. James. Who's getting the real benefit of these solar panels," he added. All the projects have sought or are seeking public approval of 80% property tax breaks for up to 10 years through the state's Industrial Property Tax Exemption Program for projects on primarily agricultural land being transformed into industrial sites that typically last at least two decades. Bogalusa West PV I LLC seeks to spend $200 million on a 200-megawatt solar project in Bogalusa, near La. Lightsource bp is developing the project, which will be located 30 miles northwest of Baton Rouge in Pointe Coupee Parish. Thibaut said he believes his parish has struck a balance between protecting agriculture and allowing some economic diversification in strategic locations with an industry that has a low impact on water, roads and local services, like fire and police. Dismuskes, the LSU energy analyst, said that while it is true industrial operations are looking for renewable power, it may not be that all of them want that power from Entergy. 3127 in Vacherie. Five of D.E. Several Louisiana utilities have shown interest in solar. The latest plans roughly double the number of solar power projects planned in Louisiana to more than a dozen. The solar arrays are massive, with hundreds of thousands of individual panels collecting sunlight to generate electricity sent to the power grid. This 74.5 MW project produces enough electricity to power 7,991 homes. Another big chunk comes from already carbon-free nuclear power, but the utility says it has been seeking solar developers since 2020 and hopes to have them to build 2,575 megawatts of solar power by 2025. 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 Published: Nov. 9, 2021 at 3:01 PM PST. "It's been a pretty amazing transformation of our industrial customers over the past couple years about their sustainability goals.". Officials in rural Louisiana grapple with 'going solar' as utilities, industry drive demand. This is a part of the West Baton Rouge Solar Farm. Parish officials are worried the expanded solar farms could displace future homes, commercial businesses or industrial plants on the prime land near the Mississippi River. You can also view the average costs for installing solar in Louisiana, based on real price data from installed systems and solar quotes. The other such installation is the 345 MW Ventress Solar project, set to start construction by the end of this year and slated for completion in 2023. :Climate change denial on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok is as bad as ever. A smaller 50-megawatt project in Washington Parish, located on Sunlight Road in Franklinton would cost $56 million, support 200 construction jobs and one job once done in 2023. Shaw's projects are in St. James Parish; its other two are in Washington Parish. In the St. James community of Vacherie, two proposed solar projects, SJ Louisiana Solar and Vacherie Solar Energy Center, would cover 3,900 acres of west-bank sugar cane fields and add to an existing 210-acre complex known as St. James Solar. That's being driven by environmental, social and corporate governance initiatives that institutional investors have embraced and by customer demand, he said.. The second recently opened for 500 megawatts of power. Who owns all these solar 'farms' across Louisiana? 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 Reached for comment, Clifford said he's no longer involved in the project. Patrick Courreges, DNR spokesman, said the rulemaking process is expected to start in August. You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. While natural gas remains the dominant power source in the state, with nuclear, coal and hydroelectric trailing far behind, solar is inching into play in a movement toward diversifying power sources and bolstering renewable energy to replace aging facilities and particularly coal to reduce emissions and fight climate change. SWEPCO and sister company Public Service Company of Oklahoma also own and operate the 1,484 MW North Central Energy Facilities in north central Oklahoma. There was an intense competition of new and existing power options reviewed by the firm and the LPSC staff, he said. Walmart, for example, has sustainability goals and a sizable footprint in Louisiana. "With over 400 megawatts of new solar power projects planned in Louisiana, (D.E. Check out our Major Solar Projects List for more notable installations. At least in his parish, early fears that solar panels would supplant farms across the parish don't appear to be realistic, Thibaut said. Overall, D.E. "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. That requires big tracts of land, often former family farms, which has created pushback from farmers in Louisiana, who say they can't compete with the solar industry's lease payments for land. 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. Don't see your company listed? All rights reserved. The Iris Solar site comprises 492 acres and the St. James site spans approximately 218 acres. Depcom Power, also based in Arizona, did the engineering, procurement and construction in addition to operations and maintenance for the solar project. Email David J. Mitchell at dmitchell@theadvocate.com. Amid public opposition, the parish Planning Commission denied them in May. Shaw's projects were initiated by and acquired from other developers. 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.
Doelger Senior Center Lunch Menu,
Afge Bop Master Agreement 2021,
Jimmy Burke Cause Of Death,
Articles L