Western North Carolina's Largest Solar Array Is Now Online
Asheville, NC - Progress Energy Carolinas' generation mix in Western N.C. is a little sunnier, as the region's largest solar photovoltaic (PV) array is now online and generating electricity. The new 555-kilowatt (kW) Evergreen Solar Farm is owned and operated by FLS Energy and built on Evergreen Packaging's now-closed landfill in Haywood County. Progress Energy Carolinas is purchasing the array's entire output for distribution to the company's customers.
"The solar age has dawned," said FLS Energy's Chief Executive Officer Michael Shore. "FLS Energy converted an old landfill to an electricity generation facility, creating jobs and clean energy along the way."
This solar PV array project created five new jobs and is expected to generate approximately 730,000 kilowatt-hours every year. This is roughly equivalent to the annual electricity demand from 51 average North Carolina homes. This will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 525 tons per year, which is the equivalent of removing 100 vehicles from the roads in Western North Carolina.
"Sustainability and economic development can go hand-in-hand to provide solutions to climate change and the financial crisis," said Congressman Heath Shuler (D-Waynesville). "I am proud to welcome the area's first solar farm, and look forward to the impact it will have on creating jobs and sustaining our planet. This project, along with Asheville's National Climactic Data Center, and dozens of growing clean energy businesses across the region, position Western North Carolina to become the national hub for green energy and green jobs."
This is the Progress Energy's fourth large-scale solar PV array to begin operating in North Carolina. Another four are under contract. Including small-scale projects, Progress Energy has contracts for a total of more than 11,000 kilowatts of solar power.
"We believe that solar power, along with energy efficiency and state-of-the-art power plants, will play an important part of a balanced approach to meeting the challenges of growing energy demand and global climate change," said John Smith, vice president of Progress Energy Carolinas' Western Region. "We are proud to partner with FLS Energy and the community on this innovative project and excited to see it come online."
The Evergreen Solar Farm has a unique design that makes it one of the first solar arrays in the country to be installed on a landfill. FLS Energy constructed concrete pads on top of the landfill to provide a base for the 2,340 Sunniva solar panels, because the installation could not penetrate the two-foot soil cap. The pads provide counterweight against high winds and support on the ground.
"This is yet one more way our company can show our commitment to the environment," said Derric Brown, Evergreen's Director of Sustainability. "This is a great use of our closed landfill and we are happy to participate. Combined with our support of sustainable forests in the region for wood chips and our participation in expanding recycling for our products like milk cartons we hope to be a leader in smart environmental practices."
FLS Energy proposed this solar PV project in response to Progress Energy Carolinas' 2007 request for renewable energy proposals, which is part of the company's plan to meet the requirements of North Carolina's Renewable Energy and Efficiency Portfolio Standard. The law requires utilities to provide a portion of their energy sales using renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.
SOURCE: Progress Energy