By the end of the month, Grayson County is set to have three solar plants up and running, able to power about 5,000 homes.
It’s all renewable energy, without any emissions and these plants are the first of their kind in the county.
“If you can add the renewable in it, you can bring the cost of everything else down,” construction manager Leah Jones said.
One of many reasons senior project Developer Aaron Wilson said solar energy is a plus.
“These are investments into our back yard, so it’s bringing tax revenue to our school districts, to the county and to the city, in addition to that, it’s locally-sourced clean energy,” Cypress Creek Renewables Senior Developer Aaron Wilson said.
Wilson was born and raised in Sherman. He’s now using his job with the national company Cypress Creek Renewables to invest in his hometown.
“We are putting the power out into the local area as opposed to a big centralized power plant,” Wilson said.
There are three sites about to open with about 40,000 panels each.
One off of Highway 56 near Southmayd, there’s also a site east of Whitesboro and another east of Whitewright. There is a fourth 70-acre farm planned in south Sherman off West Moore Street that Wilson said they’ll start building in 2018.
In all, it’s a $51 million investment into Grayson County.
“We are becoming kind of a clean energy corridor here in North Texas, providing power into the DFW Metroplex,” Wilson said.
The power will be sold to the public for about $15 cheaper per month than one major electric co-op we compared it to.
The construction is being managed by Leah Jones, who works for Horne Brothers Construction based in North Carolina. Jones said solar energy is more than just a money saver.
“You’ve got to have the oil, you’ve get to have the coal, and eventually those things will run out, so let the sun do its job, let it work for us and not us work for it,” Jones said.
If you want to start using this solar power, you can contact the retail energy provider by clicking on the Related Link.
Abbie Maynard
www.kxii.com
