JACKSON, Miss.- Entergy Mississippi is breaking ground on a new project that will take Solar Energy technology to a new level. On Monday, two Swiss pilots flew out of Abu Dhabi to begin the very first solar-powered flight around the world. With this breakthrough in the study of solar energy, Entergy Mississippi is continuing an advancement of their own.
The name of the plan is “Bright Future,” and yes, it will include the state’s first utility-owned solar project. Entergy is partnering with Stion Corporation, which is a company out of Hattiesburg that manufactures solar panels. The pilot project is designed to collect data and study the feasibility of solar energy at different locations within the state service area, including the installation of three 500-Kilowatt ground-mounted solar array systems which will be placed in Hinds, Lincoln, and Tate counties.
“We’re building these in three sites spread across the state to help us understand locational differences, capacity factor, different weather patterns and irradiance at different locations. Two of the sites will be fixed tilt, while the Hinds site will be installed using a single axis tracking system which will track the sun throughout the day,” said Entergy’s Mara Hartmann.
The Hinds county location will be the first to begin installation, and could begin as soon as April, with the expected completion date being in 2016.
