Davidson County Solar Farm
Encyclopedia
The Davidson County Solar Farm is a 17.2 megawatt solar power
station located in the heart of North Carolina
, near the community of Linwood. SunEdison
built the array of photovoltaic panels, and Duke Energy
buys all the output from the solar farm. The solar farm is to be located on North Carolina Highway 47, off New Jersey Church Road.
and multiple cash payments beginning in July 2009, and going through 2011. Another $127 million has been raised from investors. The solar farm will create 80 jobs during construction, and three jobs will be needed in order to maintain the power facility. In addition, SunEdison
will receive an annual refund of certain taxes pertaining to their various constructions due to modified legislation to include solar energy projects. SunEdison
had been looking at an almost ten times larger 2400 acres (9.7 km²) piece of land off of Interstate 85
near Lexington, but the owner declined to sell the property. However the company had already spent $134,000 researching to see if that site would work.
's presence in North Carolina altogether, is due to a state law passed in 2007 that requires public utilities such as Duke Energy
to obtain a minimum of 12.5% of their power from renewable energy
by 2021. The farm has a rating of 21.5 megawatts, which translates to 18 megawatts of peak AC power
. 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.
Solar power
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
station located in the heart of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, near the community of Linwood. SunEdison
SunEdison
Sun Edison LLC owns and operates power plants in North America and provides solar-generated energy to commercial, government, and utility customers. The company provides solar energy services, which include renewable power, monitoring, marketing, renewable portfolio standards, and solar tariff...
built the array of photovoltaic panels, and Duke Energy
Duke Energy
Duke Energy , headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an energy company with assets in the United States, Canada and Latin America.-Overview:...
buys all the output from the solar farm. The solar farm is to be located on North Carolina Highway 47, off New Jersey Church Road.
Economics
In mid-May 2008, the Davidson County Board of Commissioners agreed to subsidize the project. This included $1.8 million to go into land gradingLand grading
Grading in civil engineering and construction is the work of ensuring a level base, or one with a specified slope, for a construction work such as a foundation, the base course for a road or a railway, or landscape and garden improvements, or surface drainage...
and multiple cash payments beginning in July 2009, and going through 2011. Another $127 million has been raised from investors. The solar farm will create 80 jobs during construction, and three jobs will be needed in order to maintain the power facility. In addition, SunEdison
SunEdison
Sun Edison LLC owns and operates power plants in North America and provides solar-generated energy to commercial, government, and utility customers. The company provides solar energy services, which include renewable power, monitoring, marketing, renewable portfolio standards, and solar tariff...
will receive an annual refund of certain taxes pertaining to their various constructions due to modified legislation to include solar energy projects. SunEdison
SunEdison
Sun Edison LLC owns and operates power plants in North America and provides solar-generated energy to commercial, government, and utility customers. The company provides solar energy services, which include renewable power, monitoring, marketing, renewable portfolio standards, and solar tariff...
had been looking at an almost ten times larger 2400 acres (9.7 km²) piece of land off of Interstate 85
Interstate 85
Interstate 85 is a major interstate highway in the Southeastern United States. Its current southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus interchanges with Interstate 95 in Petersburg, Virginia, near Richmond...
near Lexington, but the owner declined to sell the property. However the company had already spent $134,000 researching to see if that site would work.
Efficiency
One of the driving forces behind the construction of this solar farm, and SunEdisonSunEdison
Sun Edison LLC owns and operates power plants in North America and provides solar-generated energy to commercial, government, and utility customers. The company provides solar energy services, which include renewable power, monitoring, marketing, renewable portfolio standards, and solar tariff...
's presence in North Carolina altogether, is due to a state law passed in 2007 that requires public utilities such as Duke Energy
Duke Energy
Duke Energy , headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an energy company with assets in the United States, Canada and Latin America.-Overview:...
to obtain a minimum of 12.5% of their power from renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
by 2021. The farm has a rating of 21.5 megawatts, which translates to 18 megawatts of peak AC power
AC power
Power in an electric circuit is the rate of flow of energy past a given point of the circuit. In alternating current circuits, energy storage elements such as inductance and capacitance may result in periodic reversals of the direction of energy flow...
. Every year that the solar farm is in use, it will offset 32 million pounds of carbon dioxide. SunEdison
SunEdison
Sun Edison LLC owns and operates power plants in North America and provides solar-generated energy to commercial, government, and utility customers. The company provides solar energy services, which include renewable power, monitoring, marketing, renewable portfolio standards, and solar tariff...
claims that once complete, the power plant will generate enough energy to power more than 2,600 homes.
See also
- Solar powerSolar powerSolar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
- PhotovoltaicsPhotovoltaicsPhotovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material...
- Solar power in the United StatesSolar power in the United StatesSolar power in the United States is an area of considerable activity and there are many utility-scale solar power plants. The largest solar power installation in the world is the Solar Energy Generating Systems facility in California, which has a total capacity of 354 megawatts...
- List of photovoltaic power stations
- Renewable energy commercializationRenewable energy commercializationRenewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years. First-generation technologies, which are already mature and economically competitive, include biomass, hydroelectricity, geothermal power and heat...