Greenwood, Miss. – Cooperative Energy celebrated the continued growth of its solar portfolio at Delta’s Edge—the Cooperative’s newest utility-scale solar site. The 637-acre site, located in Carroll County six miles east of Greenwood, uses 250,152 panels to produce 100MW of electricity. The electricity is then delivered across the state, powering homes and businesses with environmentally friendly renewable energy.
Members of Delta Electric, Cubico, Cooperative Energy, statewide officials, and invited guests gathered at the Delta’s Edge site to celebrate the solar site dispatchment into commercial operation this fall.
“Delta’s Edge represents a significant commitment to our Member systems and their consumer-members who have expressed a desire for more green energy where it makes good economic sense,” Cooperative Energy President and CEO Jeff C. Bowman said.
As a deep south state, Mississippi is geographically situated to receive an abundance of sunlight. Bowman said expanding solar generation also makes sense because it enables the Cooperative to diversify its energy generation portfolio while lessening the cost impact on Members. “Our mission is to provide our Members with reliable and affordable energy,” Bowman said. “Our Members have asked us to look for opportunities to add more renewable energy to our generation mix without negatively affecting reliability or affordability, and the Delta’s Edge facility meets those goals.”
The site utilizes bifacial crystalline panels, which are mounted on trackers that enable the panels to rotate with the sun for maximum solar absorption. At its peak, the panels will convert enough sunlight into electricity to power 13,500 homes and businesses. Cooperative Energy has a 15-year power-purchase agreement with Cubico to purchase all the electricity produced by the site.
Cooperative Energy entered into an agreement with Renewable Energy Systems (RES) for the Delta’s Edge project in September 2018. RES designed and began development of the project and secured investors for the lifetime of the facility. Cubico Buffalo Holdings I, LLC, acquired the Delta’s Edge facility in December 2020 and began construction soon after. The project hired 50 local workers and employed seven subcontractors in and around Carroll County.
David O’Bryan, general manager of Delta Electric Power Association headquartered in Greenwood, said, “We are very pleased with the economic benefits this project brought to the Greenwood trade area, and Carroll County specifically. Delta’s Edge created hundreds of construction jobs and also permanent jobs along with the associated property tax benefits.”
“As a Member of Cooperative Energy, Delta Electric is appreciative of the Cooperative’s efforts to bring additional solar energy on a large scale to our Delta Electric consumer-members,” said O’Bryan. “Our consumer-members in East Leflore County and Carroll County—along with those of the other 10 Member systems served by Cooperative Energy—will long benefit from the renewable energy generated by this large 100MW solar facility.”
Cooperative Energy’s solar portfolio has drastically grown in recent years. The Cooperative approved its first member-owned residential solar system in 2010. Today, nearly 900 residential and commercial systems are connected to Cooperative Energy, capable of producing 8,417kWAC.
The Cooperative also owns nine 100kW solar sites located throughout the Members’ service territories across the state. Cooperative Energy has another long-term power-purchase agreement for all electricity produced at MS Solar 3, a 52MW site located in Lamar County near Sumrall.
“Growing our investment in affordable solar energy advances our commitment to the nearly one million Mississippians we serve. Delta’s Edge provides our consumer-members with emissions-free energy by employing the most advanced solar technology available,” added Bowman.
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CUTLINE: Local leaders joined representatives from Cooperative Energy and local electric cooperative Delta Electric at the new 100MW Delta’s Edge site near Greenwood in Carroll County.
About Cooperative Energy: Cooperative Energy, a wholesale electric utility, serves as the only not-for-profit power provider headquartered in Mississippi. In this role, Cooperative Energy generates and transmits electricity to 11 Member distribution systems located in the southern and western portions of the state, providing power to more than 445,000 homes and businesses. www.CooperativeEnergy.com | www.MyElectricCooperative.com
About Cubico: Cubico Sustainable Investments, the solar project developer, is a leading investor in, and long-term owner and operator of, global renewable energy projects, leveraging a strong local presence with a unique combination of in-house business development, operations, financial, commercial, and technical expertise. Established in 2015, the company is jointly owned by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and PSP Investments.