In what has been a lull period for economic development in the Golden Triangle, there will be at least one new start-up at the Golden Triangle Industrial Park by year’s end.
Silicon Ranch, a Tennessee-based independent solar power company, is set to begin work on a pair of solar farms at the industrial park, pending approval by the state’s Public Service Commission at its June 2 meeting.
The company plans to open two solar power farms on a 10-acre parcel it purchased from the Golden Triangle Development LINK.
“This won’t be much of a job creator, but we do like the message it sends that we are supportive of environmental-friendly energy,” LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins told The Dispatch on Monday.
Silicon Ranch President and CEO Matt Kisber said the company is seeking PSC approval for two solar farms — a 1 megawatt capacity facility operated by Silicon Ranch Investments, LLC, and a 600,000 kilowatt facility operated by S.R. Walker East, LLC. Both are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Silicon Ranch Corp, which operates 58 other solar ranches in the Southeast U.S.
“State regulations limit a facility to no more than 1 megawatt, which is why the two projects are separate entities,” Kisber said.
Kisber said his company will sell the electricity it produces at the facilities to Tennessee Valley Authority. A similar arrangement with TVA is in operation in Starkville by a company called Synergetics.
Not the company’s first Mississippi site
Silicon Ranch already operates two solar ranches in Okolona, the first of which began operations in 2012.
Kisber said production on the Lowndes County site could begin soon after the PSC’s ruling in June.
“Once we get that approval, I think we can move quickly,” he said. “We’ve already started working on these projects. We have the contractors lined up and the engineer reports are in progress. It’s about a three- to five-month process, depending on weather, but we certainly feel we will be operational by the fourth quarter of this year.”
Kisber said the two solar farms will consist of 5,000 single access tracking panels.
“What that means is that the panels will track the course of the sun during the day, then reset at night,” he said.
Although he wouldn’t put a price-tag on the investment, Kisber said the projects represent an investment of “several million dollars.”
Kisber acknowledge the projects will not be big job-producers.
“We’re working with our partners, including 4-County Electric, so there won’t be a lot of new jobs,” he said. “But while it won’t create a lot of jobs, we feel it will be an asset to the community. We’ll add to the tax base in a project that requires little in return.”
Kisber, formerly the head of Tennessee’s economic development commission, said his familiarity with the area and the work of the LINK led his company to choosing the Lowndes County site.
“In my previous role, I became familiar with Lowndes County and familiar with the success that Joe Max has had in the area,” he said. “That, along with the presence of so many companies of global structure, made Lowndes County very appealing to us.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is ssmith@cdispatch.com.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
