Former President Jimmy Carter is renowned for his support of the solar industry. Recently, he leased 10-acres of his land in Plains, Georgia to SolAmerica to develop a 1.3-megawatt solar farm.
The project was launched Feb. 8th and is expected to produce more that 55 million kilowatt-hours of energy over the next 25 years — that is enough to provide more than half of the energy needs for the 683 residents of Plains.
President Carter stated at the ceremony, “Rosalynn and I are very pleased to be part of SolAmerica’s exciting solar project in Plains. Distributed, clean energy generation is critical to meeting growing energy needs around the world while fighting the effects of climate change. I am encouraged by the tremendous progress that solar and other clean energy solutions have made in recent years and expect those trends to continue.”
SolAmerica started work on the project in Oct 2016. The array includes 3,852 panels. Executive vice president George Mori of SolAmerica added, “We are honored to work with President Carter and his family on this project in Plains, as President Carter’s leadership on renewable energy matters is well known and much appreciated in our industry. Through a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Georgia Power, this project will help expand the growth of renewable energy assets in Georgia, while contributing to the overall economy of Plains.”
In addition to adding 32 solar panels to heat water at the White House (many years ago), President Carter also created the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as well as signing the Public Regulatory Act. We look forward to following his journey as an advocate and leader of the renewable energy movement.