MISSISSIPPI MOVES INTO SOLAR

Pair of solar energy projects planned in Mississippi; Entergy Mississippi, Phoenix Solar efforts could boost sun-based energy’s profile in the state

Jeff Ayres, January 1, 2015 (The Jackson Clarion-Ledger)

"A pair of solar energy projects planned for Mississippi could help determine whether electricity derived from the sun’s rays becomes a more commonplace power source in the state…The state Public Service Commission recently approved a plan from Entergy Mississippi to install sets of solar panels at to-be-determined sites…Entergy will install 500 thin-film solar panels on about five acres apiece…The utility’s $4.3 million project aims to see if solar energy can become part of its fuel-source mix…[T]he panels should be operating by the end of 2015…[A larger-scale, 30-acre project] will feature roughly 9,800 solar panels…enough to power 300 homes…Each initiative could raise the profile of solar energy in Mississippi…

“Electricity produced from the sun has been a mainstay power source in California and other western states for decades but has been slow to catch on to this point in the South, where climatological patterns and conditions can be much different and not as conducive to solar power. Entergy’s plan is said to be the first utility-backed solar power development in Mississippi…Georgia had the fastest growing solar power market in the country in 2013…Nationally, capacity has grown for three consecutive quarters, according to SEIA, with more growth projected in 2015…Despite such gains, solar power doesn’t yet have a significant role in producing electricity in Mississippi. Practically all of the state’s electricity currently is derived from natural gas, coal, nuclear energy or biomass…The PSC has encouraged the state’s utilities to look for new ways of generating power while keeping ratepayer bills from rising…” click here for more

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