Mississippi Power, Hannah Solar and the U.S. Navy have broken ground on a 23-acre, 3 MW-4 MW solar project at The Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC), also known as the Seabee Base, in Gulfport, Miss.
According to Mississippi Power, the facility will have roughly 13,000 panels, providing enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 450 homes.
“Renewable energy is important to a well-balanced energy portfolio,” says Anthony Wilson, Mississippi Power’s president and CEO. “This is one of three utility-scale solar projects that have been approved by the Mississippi Public Service Commission, making our company the state’s largest partner in renewable energy. We are proud to team up with the Navy, along with the commission and its staff, on this very important project.”
“Partnerships like the one between Mississippi Power and the Department of the Navy make us stronger,” says Honorable Dennis V. McGinn, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment. “It enables us to better serve and complete our mission. The efforts of NCBC to be effective managers of energy resources have been recognized at the highest levels of the Navy, and it is these efforts that make all of our bases more resilient and secure.”
The other two projects approved by the commission include a 450-acre, 50 MW electric solar generating station in Hattiesburg to be developed in partnership with Silicon Ranch Solar and a 52 MW utility-scale solar project in Sumrall to be developed with Origis Energy. Totaling 105 MW, these projects will position Mississippi Power as the largest renewable energy partner in the state.
The project developers will finance each installation, with Mississippi Power receiving all of the energy and associated renewable energy credits. The power will be purchased through long-term power purchase agreements with the developers.
Construction on all three projects is slated to begin later this year.
