County’s second solar farm set to go online in 2015 (Georgia)

[jpak]

http://waltontribune.com/news/article_0403a748-30b4-11e1-b501-0019bb2963f4.html

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The solar farm will use 205 acres, with a main entrance off Hawkins Academy Road. To help belay concerns from nearby residents, the outer rim of the project will feature an earthen berm with landscaping, with a security fence along the inside of the barrier. Initial plans call for about 175 acres to be covered by the solar panels — utilizing about 150,000 solar modules and as many as 20 transformers. The facility will interconnect with the Georgia Power/Georgia Transmission Corporation-East Social Circle substation but due to the size of the farm will require upgrades to the transmission lines.

Ivey sees this project as an $85 million investment and intends to use local businesses for construction and other efforts associated with the project in addition to helping on a bigger scale.

“This particular region of the U.S. ranks high in solar energy potential and very low in solar energy development, so Georgia is a prime location for this booming industry both on large scale solar like Simon Solar Farm and all the way down to small scale home implementation,” Ivey said. “Large projects like mine will help drive down solar panel production costs and make it feasible for the average homeowner to soon have their own solar array on their house or carport and be in control of their own power needs. Not only do I see solar energy as a trend for the future, I see it as the smartest way to source power. Solar is 100 percent safe and clean as proven by the EPA and there are no safety concerns with meltdowns or earthquakes or pollution. Solar panels sit quietly, collect the suns rays and turn it in to the light in your refrigerator.

“Simon Solar Farm will have numerous benefits to the local community and our state by creating jobs, education and trailblazing, putting energy creation in the homeowners control. My motto for the farm is ‘jobs for present, education for future, power forever.’”

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Looks like the Sunny South has finally discovered solar energy...

[Bob Wallace]

1. Solar vs. Southern Company's new reactors...

It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out.

Southern seems to be going forward with their plans to build two new reactors. Regardless of the cost of power from those reactors their customers are going to have to pay the rate. Let's take a conservative guess that the wholesale cost of that power is going to be $0.15/kWh. Retail, obviously higher.

It could be ten years before those reactors come on line. In the meantime residential solar is likely to drop under $2/watt installed. That will make the cost of rooftop electricity less than $0.10/kWh.

Wonder how many customers are going to continue to purchase power at well over ten cents when they can make their own for a lot less?

And as customers who can afford to peel off that means that rates are going to have to rise to cover the cost of these plants. At some point the remaining customers are likely to look at what people in wind/solar-heavy states are paying and revolt.

Or will states like Georgia socialize their power systems and use taxpayer dollars to support utility companies?