Hattiesburg, Miss. (February 28, 2024) –Governor Tate Reeves and the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) recently awarded the sixth round of Mississippi Site Development Program grants. Industrial properties in Hancock, Pearl River, and Scott counties were among the latest recipients. Together, sites within Cooperative Energy’s Members’ service territories received over $268,000 in state grant support.
The Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission was awarded $100,000 to two sites within the county. The Commission will clear and grub 10-acre sites at both the Stennis Technology Park and Port Bienville Industrial Park. Both industrial sites are served by Coast Electric.
MDA awarded $118,500 to Scott County for environmental due diligence studies at the Wooten Industrial Site. The funds will be matched locally to complete preliminary review of the developability of the 400+ acre property along Interstate 20 in Lake, Mississippi. The property has the potential to be a prime industrial site with interstate frontage and railroad access along the CPKC line. The site is served by Southern Pine Electric.
Pearl River County received $50,000 for development of the Pearl River County Technology Park. Funds will be used to construct an access road into the 30-acre business park. The technology park aims to recruit light industry, research and development, and other technology-based companies from neighboring Louisiana and surrounding areas. The technology park is served by Coast Electric.
In 2017, the state Legislature created the Mississippi Site Development Program to assist public or private non-profit economic development organizations or local governments with preparing site-ready locations to attract new industry and private capital investment to the state.
Properties within Cooperative Energy’s Members’ service territories have received more than $27 million in Mississippi Site Development Program grants since the program’s inception.
To align with the State’s site development efforts, Cooperative Energy created the SiteInvest program in 2023. SiteInvest incorporates state grant support with Cooperative Competes grant funds and strategic planning into a multi-tier readiness initiative. Port Bienville Industrial Park, the Wooten Industrial Site, and the Pearl River County Technology Park are all finalist sites in the SiteInvest program.
Visit www.cooperativeenergy.com/economic-development for more information on these industrial sites and SiteInvest.
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About Cooperative Energy
Cooperative Energy generates and transmits electricity to 11 Member-owned electric distribution cooperatives. Known as the Power of 12, Cooperative Energy and its Member cooperatives work together to provide safe, reliable and affordable power from the Mississippi Delta to the Coast. The 11 electric cooperatives own and maintain more than 58,000 miles of distribution lines and provide service to more than one million Mississippians throughout 55 counties.