Entergy Mississippi unveils key learnings from solar program
In Mississippi, Entergy reported that its Bright Future initiative, which kicked off in 2015, created a blueprint for Mississippi’s electricity needs through 2025 and gave Entergy engineers an opportunity to learn more about the feasibility of solar technology in the state.
Entergy Mississippi said it piloted its solar program at three locations within its 45-county certificated region: one each in Lincoln, Hinds and DeSoto counties. All three sites were similar in size and configured for 500 kW of power output. In Lincoln and DeSoto counties, the panels were fixed on a South-facing axis while the panels at the Hinds solar station rotated on a single axis to align with the sun’s movements.
“We learned a lot about the solar technology, but we also learned a lot about everything else that goes with solar generation,” said Aaron Hill, director of resource planning and market operations for Entergy Mississippi. “We learned how the timing of solar output corelates with our customer’s electricity usage, the overall vegetation maintenance requirements and even how to handle solar glass safely.”
“We’ve taken our solar knowledge and experience and partnered to build the Sunflower Solar Project,” Hill said, “which will provide about 100MW of carbon-free energy for our Mississippi customers.”
Entergy Mississippi turned on the site—the largest renewable energy-generating site in the state in late 2022 and it now produces enough power for 16,000 homes.
