Solar plant under construction near Albany set to begin production in December

ALBANY – Everything about a solar farm under construction on Moultrie Road seems huge: a 1,200-acre site on which workers eventually are placing 5,232 rows of support beams for 440,535 solar panels that will rotate to track the sun.

As for the power source those panels will tap, it’s 2.7 million miles in circumference and about 93 million miles away, and its core reaches temperatures of 27 million degrees.

Completion of the Dougherty County Solar Energy Center is expected to be completed toward the end of the year. A wholly owned subsidiary of NextEra Resources, the facility looks like a small city sprang up in a cotton field, which basically is what happened.

NextEra is constructing a similar facility in Brooks County.

Those projects, along with others in the area, including Mitchell County, are part of Georgia Power Co.’s 177-megawatt Commercial & Industrial Renewable Energy Development Initiative. The plan was announced in April 2018.

The plant near Albany is part of that initiative and will supply 120 megawatts, while one under construction in Mitchell County will provide about 57.5 megawatts of electricity.

The Dougherty County facility is expected to provide about $10 million in tax revenue over its lifespan.

Georgia Power officials say they expect the facility to be online and providing power in December.

In the meantime, hundreds of workers are boosting the local economy by purchasing at restaurants, lodging and entertainment, said NextEra spokesperson Lisa Paul.

“We’re pleased to develop this project and advance solar as a part of Georgia Power’s renewable energy development initiative for their commercial and industrial customers,” she said.

Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin
AlanMauldin[email protected]

Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin
AlanMauldin[email protected]