Recurrent Energy LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc., has signed a build-transfer agreement (BTA) for a base purchase price of approximately $138.4 million with Entergy Mississippi on a 100 MW AC solar photovoltaic project.
This agreement is expected to provide Entergy with the largest utility-owned solar facility in the state of Mississippi (pending approval by the Mississippi Public Service Commission), says Canadian Solar.
The Sunflower solar project, located on approximately 1,000 acres in Sunflower County, Miss., is being developed by Recurrent Energy. Once the facility is operational, which is expected by mid-2022, Entergy Mississippi will own the Sunflower project, allowing the regulated utility to power more than 16,000 homes with clean electricity.
“Across the globe, we continue to witness an evolution in the relationship that utilities have with solar energy,” says Shawn Qu, chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar. “This agreement marks one of the first build-transfer agreements for solar to be executed in the U.S., and we are very proud to have partnered with Entergy on this landmark deal. We look forward to a continued partnership on this and future projects.”
Expected to create approximately 360 jobs during construction, the Sunflower project will use single-axis trackers and 350,000 PV modules.
“Building the utility of the future means embracing new technologies,” says Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi’s president and CEO. “The Sunflower Solar facility will support our plan to offer community solar to customers who want renewable energy as part of their energy mix.”
Entergy Mississippi says it began studying solar as a renewable energy source in 2016 when the company built three solar pilot project sites in Brookhaven, Hinds and DeSoto counties.
“The solar pilot projects helped answer many questions about solar in Mississippi and were the genesis for this larger project,” says Fisackerly.
