Entergy announces new solar power project in Mississippi
In Mississippi, Entergy Mississippi recently announced that its 100-megawatt renewable solar power station is up and running near the town of Ruleville. This power station, known as the Sunflower Solar Station, is the largest utility-owned solar installation in Mississippi, the company said. This solar station will provide clean energy to Entergy Mississippi’s 461,000 customers, with enough energy to power 16,000 homes. Situated on nearly 1,000 acres in Sunflower County, the renewable energy plant connects to Entergy’s transmission grid nearby. It consists of a single-axis tracking photovoltaic power generator with 272,000 PV modules. The Sunflower Solar Station is also the first plant in what will eventually be the most significant expansion of renewable power in the state’s history, the company said. Entergy intends to replace aging natural gas plants with 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy over the next five years under its Economic Development with Green Energy (EDGE) program. Over its 30-year life, the Sunflower Solar Station is expected to bring in $17 million in ad valorem taxes to Sunflower County.