Construction on a solar farm near Dobson that will produce enough electricity to power 5,000 homes has begun.
The operation, known as the Stony Knoll Solar Power Plant will be spread across 195 acres near Rockford Road, officials with Duke Energy said.
Randy Wheeless, spokesperson for the company, said construction on the operation began within the past two weeks and should be completed, with the plant up and running, by the end of the calendar year.
Technically, it will be operated by Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, a non-regulated division of Duke Energy.
“They build wind and solar farms all over the country,” he explained. Wheeless said the company has made a practice of avoiding constructing and operating solar and wind plants in areas where it would be selling to its parent firm, Duke Energy. However, this project was overseen by North Carolina’s Competitive Procurement for Renewable Energy process, which meant companies had to submit bids to the state, which would then choose who would build and operate the farm.
Once the 22.6-megawatt (MW) facility is completed it will be the largest solar plant in Surry County.
“Duke Energy is bringing more carbon-free, renewable energy to customers in North Carolina. We’re pleased to add Surry County to our ever-growing list of solar locations as we significantly reduce carbon emissions on our path to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Stephen De May, Duke Energy’s North Carolina president.
“We’re pleased to continue to build upon the renewable energy resources in the state. The Stony Knoll solar project marks the third facility that we have announced in North Carolina this year and demonstrates our continued commitment to increasing clean energy generation in the state,” said Chris Fallon, president of Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions.
During peak construction, Stony Knoll Solar will create about 70 jobs, though Wheeless said once construction is finished and the plant is operating, it will be overseen by a team of Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, with no long-term new local jobs created.
He said the project will enhance tax values of the land, as well as provide a steady income for the landowners.
“We’re leasing from some other parties…That’s normal for a solar operation. They’re renting to us, they have a steady cash flow for the next 20 years.”
Wheeless said typically the land where these facilities are built are not used for any other purposes once the power generation starts, although in some farming areas of the state landowners have housed bees and other crop pollinators on the land.
The Surry County project is one of several relatively new ones in the western half of the state. Wheeless said early in the process of building solar farms, most were in the eastern portion of North Carolina — many of them on land formerly used as tobacco farms.
Now, those projects are moving westward, with slightly more than 40 in use. He said the company just finished building one in Gaston and Davie counties, and is close to or recently finished projects in Cabarrus and Cleveland counties.
“I think you’re going to see more in the Piedmont area of the state,” he said.
The Dobson facility’s design, procurement of inverters, balance of plant systems and construction of the project will be performed by Swinerton Renewable Energy. The energy generated by Stony Knoll will be delivered through a 20-year power purchase agreement with Duke Energy Carolinas.
Duke Energy maintains more than 3,700 MW of solar power on its energy grid in North Carolina, which could power about 700,000 homes and businesses at peak output. The company also operates more than 40 solar facilities in the state. North Carolina ranks No. 3 in the nation for overall solar power, according to Duke Energy.
At present, Wheeless said about 10% of Duke Energy’s power comes from solar or hydro, and the company hopes to double that by 2025.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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