Continuing to expand and evolve with technical advancements
The sun has always been a resource for Mississippi, drawing tourists to the Gulf and Magnolia State lakes and reservoirs. And, farmers need it most of all to nurture the work they do.
However, harnessing the power of the sun has been an investment being made across the state, from universities to businesses, electrical associations, and even homeowners. Solar farms significantly contribute to Mississippi’s economy through job creation, private investment, and increased tax revenue. Of the energy sources available in Mississippi, natural gas provides 72.6%, nuclear is at 16.1%, coal is 6.6%, other renewables are 3.7% and solar is only one percent according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Solar farms can be a boon to local economies as their private investment helps generate millions in tax revenue for public services and schools and creates hundreds of jobs during construction.
However, to build a solar farm or plant—the terms are interchangeable—the Mississippi Public Service Commission must first approve any project. The MPSC is responsible for issuing certificates for electric generating facilities, including solar facilities. When considering applications for certificates of public convenience and necessity for solar facilities, the commission conducts a thorough review process to ensure that the project meets certain criteria. The approval process involves a comprehensive review of various factors, including technical feasibility and financial viability, environmental impact and compliance with regulations, grid reliability and transmission system capacity, as well as potential benefits and costs to ratepayers.
MPSC Chairman Chris Brown offered some updates to the solar industry in Mississippi.
“To date, the Commission has approved construction of 54 solar generating facilities. The Commission’s authority pertains to solar facilities that would fit the definition of an electric generation ‘Facility’ under the Public Utility Act,” said Brown.
The very first solar project’s petition approved by the Commission dates back to December 2014 when three Entergy solar pilot projects were approved. These three facilities, located in Lincoln, Hinds, and DeSoto counties, came online in June 2016. Three Entergy Mississippi solar projects began operation in June. That group of facilities initially generated enough power for 175 homes annually.
Then, in June 2017, the largest facility (at the time) became operational in Hattiesburg—a 52-megawatt solar power plant that could supply enough energy for 8,000 homes with 220,000 solar panels spread across 600 acres.
Solar facilities in Greenwood, Kiln, Lucedale and Lyon came online as well with each site producing 100 kilowatts or less from 378 panels. Even with 54 current solar facilities, the MPSC continues to receive requests.
“There are currently six Petitions for Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity pending before the Commission regarding the construction of new utility-scale solar facilities in Mississippi,” said Brown.
Delving into the benefits, Brown noted, “Solar is one part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy. Our priority remains ensuring that Mississippians have access to energy that is available, affordable, and reliable every hour of every day.”
Entergy Mississippi CEO and President, Haley Fisackerly, said solar was part of former Governor Haley Barbour’s thinking in the mid 2000s.
“He was putting a lot of focus on economic development,” said Fisackerly. “And, even he then knew that energy and electricity were going to be a huge, huge component. He used to always say, ‘We need an all of the above strategy.’ And that’s definitely what we’re looking at here.”
Fisackerly explained, “Our supply plan going forward is that we will be adding more solar facilities. We will also be adding new state-of-the-art gas generation units that are cleaner and more efficient to operate. This ADAPT not only brings significant capital investments into Madison County, but we will also need to make capital investments in five other counties.”
The Delta area will see new solar plants as Entergy has “been working with local officials both in Bolivar County over building a new solar facility there at the site of the old Delta plant north of Cleveland, and then we’re also working with officials up in DeSoto County, a large facility that we’ll build on land that at once was going to be a coal plant 50 years ago that never was built and now we’ll be putting solar facilities on that these are products that Amazon Web Services demanded and are paying the incremental cost for and so they’ll be on the grid to create benefits to all customers but they’re paying the incremental cost for that we are negotiating three other deals.”
At the university level, Mississippi State University is utilizing part of its campus to build a solar farm that will help power the Starkville campus and educate students for careers in the solar industry. The largest on-campus solar facility in the Southeastern Conference is part of a 30-year renewable energy efficiency project. Located on a four-acre field between R.L. Jones Circle and Blackjack Road, the 3,420 solar panel installation will produce about 2.4 million kilowatt-hours of energy annually, generating 2,400 average Renewable Energy Credits, or RECs, and saving—when combined with LED and other retrofit projects—$885,000 per year—plus an additional savings of $265,000 through a one-time rebate incentive from Tennessee Valley Authority.
“We’re taking innovative action now to generate renewable, sustainable power right here on campus. This solar structure is a visible symbol of Mississippi State’s commitment to reach our clean energy goals,” said Saunders Ramsey, Executive Director of MSU’s Campus Services. “It’s an exciting time and a mission that the entire campus community can champion.”
He further explained that the 30-year plan began in 2012, and clean energy development and production is the primary aim.
“Clean energy generation accounts for 45% of the total campus carbon reduction goal, with the second highest category—lighting and equipment retrofits—accounting for 20% of that goal. This combination will bring the university a huge increase in energy savings and make significant strides in the plan’s two most critical emission reduction areas,” said Ramsey.
Upgrades and solar modules together will help MSU achieve a reduction of 7,548 metric tons of carbon annually and save a total of 10,784,865 kilowatt-hours of energy per year.
University campuses across the U.S. are uniquely positioned to engage in solar energy projects for more reasons than just saving money. Les Potts, MSU interim vice president for Finance and Administration and CFO, explained as solar farms continue to develop, more Mississippi landowners and utilities will consider the use of solar power on their property.
“With our land-grant mission, we have always helped Mississippians make the most of their natural resources,” said Potts. “By building and managing a solar farm of our own, we will be better prepared to advise stakeholders taking on similar endeavors.”
Another benefit of the university’s solar farm will be educational. Students will have access to pre-professional, hands-on learning in areas such as design, production, and solar farm maintenance and management.
Solar projects generate tax revenue for local communities, which can be used to fund public services such as schools. A study on a solar project in Lamar County projected tax revenue ranging from $1,032,145 to $19,937,756 over a ten-year period, according to The University of Southern Mississippi. Solar projects across the state have attracted more than $4.5 billion in private investment. Although land used for solar farms can be agricultural, the actual impact is only 0.22% of farm acreage. Those acres are leased for anywhere from $700 to $2,000 per acre, per year. There’s increasing interest in using land under and around solar panels for farming activities, such as grazing or growing crops, which can help boost the local economy, according to Mississippi State University.
Solar farms continue to evolve with technological advancements. Essentially, solar panels are mounted on structures called racking that sit on posts, raising the panels above the ground, and they occupy less than 5% of the land. There is also significant open space under the panels, in the rows and buffer areas, to plant site-specific grasses and other vegetation that benefit the site and ecosystem.
The racking features smart solar trackers that slowly and quietly rotate throughout the day, following the sun to boost solar energy output. These smart trackers also serve other important functions, such as protecting solar panels from hailstorms, high winds, and snow accumulation.
In 2024 alone, 10 solar production sites connected to the grid with more than a dozen more on the way in the next three years. In Hinds County, the Soul City Solar site received approval by the Hinds County Planning Commission in June. According to a Mississippi Today article, “The company in charge of the project, Virginia-based Apex Clean Energy, said it plans to begin construction next year and have its panels operating by 2027.”
Apex has collaborated with private landowners over the past four years to secure lease agreements for roughly 6,000 acres. Soul City is planned to generate 396 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 95,000 homes. This power production would make Soul City the largest solar project in Mississippi.
The article noted that Apex says the project will generate roughly $150 million in county tax revenue over the initial 30-year lifespan of the facility, in addition to 10 full-time jobs and 400 construction jobs. Several calls and emails to Apex were not answered or returned for this article.
One key factor in bringing solar farms online is that Mississippi is part of a transmission line sharing agreement organization, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc., an Independent System Operator and Regional Transmission Organization that provides open-access transmission service in various parts of the United States and Canada. Without this, the solar farms would not be feasible as the projected cost to build these transmission lines from scratch is estimated at $3 million per mile.
As solar panel efficiency increased and prices began to decrease in the 2000s, interest in renewable energy started to grow. Mississippi’s abundant sunshine, combined with a rising awareness of environmental issues, created a favorable environment for solar expansion. Will Hegman founded his Mississippi Solar LLC as the first commercial contractor in the state with a Solar and Wind Specialty License. After working in the industry for a few years, Hegman passed away and his widow sold the company to John and Virginia Wilbanks, who moved it from the Jackson area to Eupora, where they serve the entire state, including both commercial and residential customers. Michael McCoy provides sales and service and explained more of how solar is being implemented in Mississippi.
“I started in this business in 2021, and it was really starting to take off. And as I learned more, and as the Inflation Reduction Act got passed and had the nice tax incentive or tax credit, then that coupled with a USDA grant for small commercials, and agriculture, we were able to put in quite a few systems and develop a pretty strong base out there for referrals, and it’s just grown from there,” said McCoy.
McCoy noted the company has been working with a few ag-related projects including a greenhouse project in Coldwater, two chicken house projects in Macon and more are coming in.
“We’re just sprinkling in residential solar along the way and doing an off-grid system here and there. It’s just been a real good mix. Unless we’re adding batteries, what we’re doing is complementing the power we get from the grid or they get from the grid,” he explained. “The solar is there and if you have a bright, sunshiny day, you might not pull any power from the grid. But then there may be days when it’s raining, and so it’s a supplement or a complement from the grid.”
In addition to chicken farms and greenhouses, McCoy has quoted work for catfish farmers and is looking for more ways to implement solar applications on both roofs and ground mounts.
“We’ve done probably 30- to 40-percent of those have been ground mounts, and it varies at times to more. With our roof mounts, we go between the different types of metal roofing, which we have solutions for all of those, and we have quite a few asphalt shingles that we’ve worked with. The solar panels go to protect the roof and makes that shingle roof last longer.”