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The Davidson County Solar Farm will be the largest solar farm in the United States when completed in 2011. The 21.5-megawatt power station is located in the heart of North Carolina, near the community of Linwood. SunEdison will build the array of photovoltaic panels, and Duke Energy plans to buy all the output from the solar farm. [1] The solar farm is to be located on North Carolina Highway 47, off New Jersey Church Road. [2]
Economics
[edit]In mid-May 2008, the Davidson County Board of Commissioners agreed to subsidize the project. This included $1.8 million to go into land grading and multiple cash payments beginning in July 2009, and going through 2011. Another $127 million has been raised from investors.[2]The solar farm will create 80 jobs during construction, and three jobs will be needed in order to maintain the power facility.[3] SunEdison had been looking at an almost ten times larger 2,400-acre piece of land off of Interstate 85 near Lexington, but the owner declined to sell the property. [2]
Efficiency
[edit]One of the driving forces behind the construction of this solar farm, and SunEdison's presence in North Carolina altogether is due to the state law passed in 2007. This law requires public utilities such as Duke Energy to obtain a minimum of 12.5 of their power from renewable energy by 2021.[2] The farm will produce 21.5 megawatts, with 18 megawatts being used solely for AC power.[1] When completed, this will make the Davidson County Solar Farm the largest solar farm in the United States - larger than the Nellis Solar Power Plant in Nevada which produces 14 megawatts at peak production.[4]Every year that the solar farm is in use, it will offset 32 million pounds of carbon dioxide. SunEdison claims that once complete, the power plant will generate enough energy to power more than 2,600 homes.[1]
See also
[edit]
- Solar power
- Photovoltaics
- Solar power in the United States
- List of photovoltaic power stations
- Renewable energy commercialization
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Barron, Richard M. "Solar Farm Coming to Davidson County." News & Record. N.p., 18 August 2009. Web. 14 October 2009.
- ^ a b c d Hewlett, Michael. "Solar Farm Moves Forward." Winston-Salem Journal 7 April 2009: n. pag. Web. 18 October 2009. http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/apr/07/solar-farm-moves-forward/news-regional/.
- ^ Stratton, Seth. "Solar Farm Will Be Built in the County." The Dispatch 22 May 2008: n. pag. Web. 18 October 2009. http://www.the-dispatch.com/article/20080522/NEWS/805220315?Title=Solar-farm-will-be-built-in-the-county.
- ^ Whitney, Ryan. "Nellis Activates Nations Largest PV Array." Nellis Air Force Base. U.S. Air Force, 19 December 2007. Web. 18 October 2009. http://www.nellis.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123079933.
External Links
[edit]
[[Category:Future solar power stations]] [[Category:Future power stations]]