Presley approves new solar farm

New Albany, MS- Construction is well underway on a new “solar farm” on the west side of New Albany. SR New Albany, LLC is investing about $3.7-million to build the facility that will include around 6,600 solar panels. The facility is being constructed on 30 acres of land on the south side of Highway 30 and immediately west of the Diversity-Vutec plant.

Northern District PSC Commissioner Brandon Presley approved the new solar farm during a hearing held in New Albany.

The new solar farm will generate approximately two megawatts of electricity, enough to supply the electrical power needs of 250 homes. The electricity generated at the solar farm will be sold to the Northeast Mississippi Electric Power Association of Oxford.

Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley gave official approval to the facility during a public hearing in New Albany on September 28th. “This case has been referred to our office to hold a hearing for public comment, even though the companies filing are not public utilities as the law defines them, because they don’t sell directly to public users,” Presley said at the hearing.

“This is an exciting venture for northeast Mississippi. We are up to almost 50 megawatts of solar power across the state, with this being our fifth solar farm in Mississippi,” he said. “One of my goals when I came into office was to the increase the amount of solar energy supplied by our state.”