OCTOBER 6, 2011 ISSUE
Solar Farm Holds Grand Opening in Newland
The new solar array gleams on a foggy morning just days before the opening and dedication ceremony. Photo by James Fay
Avery County’s first solar farm was celebrated on September 29 at Henderson Farms, a Christmas tree farm in Newland.
Area dignitaries, Mountain Electric, developer O2 Energies and contractor Strata Solar Avery Solar gathered to celebrate the completion of the one-megawatt solar power plant spanning six acres, located on Trim Branch Road.
O2 Energies said the power plant will offset the electricity that 120 homes use in one year.
Mountain Electric Cooperative, a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) affiliate, will buy the electricity and renewable energy credits from the Avery Solar farm. The solar power supply will help Mountain Electric achieve state renewable energy requirements.
The solar plant will supply power to Mountain Electric during periods of peak demand. Solar power is slightly more expensive than baseload power from the TVA’s coal-fired plants, but utilities also run peak power natural gas facilities to supplement their power supply during times of peak demand (generally between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m.). Peak power is the most expensive form of power for utilities to provide.
“[Solar is] actually on par or cheaper than traditional forms of peak power generation,” Joel Olsen, managing director of O2 Energies, told High Country Press. “Solar offsets that peak power generation. In the long term, it’s going to save the rate payers money.”
The $5 million solar power plant could be the first of several in the county. Avery County Christmas tree growers facing increased competition and falling prices are looking to diversify and find new sources of income.
Mountain Electric is the only electric cooperative in North Carolina that purchases power from the TVA; most power in the state is supplied by Duke Energy and Progress Energy. Because the TVA is owned by the U.S. government, its renewable energy requirements are more aggressive than those in place for investor-owned utilities, providing unique opportunities for solar farm development in Avery County.
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