Public Service Commission delves into “fact finding mission” on solar energy in Mississippi

• Mississippi Power and TVA shared their efforts to expand solar in the Magnolia State. Ag Commission Gipson expressed concerns over the impact on the state’s farmlands.

The Mississippi Public Service Commission hosted a Solar Summit on Thursday, where experts and the public discussed the impacts of increased solar power generation in the state.

“There’s a lot of pressing questions in the community and among the citizens of Mississippi based on how we deliver water, which we covered a couple weeks ago, and then today, renewable energies, how they impact us individually and how they impact our overall grid and state,” said Northern District Commissioner Chris Brown (R) in his opening remarks.

Brown, who chairs the three-man Commission, said the Solar Summit was a “fact finding mission,” noting that the PSC is an “all the above” supporter of energy in Mississippi with the focus on reliability and affordability.

“Every dollar you take out of the constituents’ pockets is one less dollar they have to spend on the necessities in life,” Brown said, noting that he is ultimately concerned with how energy’s cost impacts ratepayers in Mississippi.

Central District Commissioner DeKeither Stamps (R) said it was his goal to get the state “zeroed in on where we’re going.”

“Some people are pro-solar. Some people are anti-solar. And some people are a mix in the middle,” Stamps said. “Let’s just have open discussion on how we can develop policies to move the whole industry forward and encompass everyone’s thoughts.”

Southern District Commissioner Wayne Carr (R) said everything was on the table as they consider energy options for Mississippi.

“I want us to focus and draw back for a second and think about our citizens that are on fixed incomes,” Carr said. “They’re dealing with [energy costs]. I hear the stories.”

Carr said while personal incomes in Mississippi rank near the bottom nationally, energy costs are in “the top 10.”

According to a recent WalletHub report comparing the total monthly energy bills in each of the 50 states, Mississippi monthly electricity costs ranked 10th. The Magnolia State ranked 45th overall for total energy cost.

Mississippi Power, TVA solar capacity

Allison Little, Renewable Energy Program Manager with Mississippi Power, gave an overview of where the company is in terms of solar renewable capacity.

“We have a little over 320 megawatts or so of solar capacity on our system,” Little told the Commission.

Mississippi Power negotiated third-party contracts for 158 megawatts of solar at four locations, those being in Sumrall, Hattiesburg, Toomsuba, and Gulfport. All are 25-year facilities.

The company has issued a Request for Proposal in June 2023 for another 200 megawatts in solar capacity. Two contractors were selected from the process and are dependent on a voluntary customer subscription and PSC approval. Once the customer commitments are received, Mississippi Power will then file for PSC approval, likely in early 2025, with the goal to have the facilities up and running by 2029.

As for the Tennessee Valley Authority, Ying Ayliffe, TVA’s Director of Origination and Utility-Scale Solar, told the Commission that the authority looks to expand solar up to 10,000 megawatts by 2035.

“We need more electricity,” Ayliffe told Commissioners, saying TVA was investing $16 billion through Fiscal Year 2027 to build new generation and enhance reliability of existing assets.

To date, Ayliffe said TVA has roughly 4,000 megawatts of that 10,000 goal achieved, with 1,000 online and 3,000 under contract. Six of those projects are in Northeast Mississippi. She estimates that nearly 10 acres are needed per megawatt install, meaning utility-scale solar is land intensive.

“So, if we’re planning to do 10,000 megawatts of solar, that means 100,000 acres taken out of production,” Ayliffe said.

By comparison, Ayliffe said the 100,000 acres represents around 1 percent of available farmland in Tennessee alone, but she added that their projects will be spread across TVA’s service territory which includes Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and parts of other states.

Concerns over solar on Mississippi farmland

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson (R) followed Little. Gipson expressed serious concerns regarding the long-term impact of “solar farms” being deployed in massive scale on Mississippi farmland throughout the state. 

While acknowledging the demand for solar power as part of Mississippi’s statewide energy generation, Commissioner Gipson discussed recent international and federal polices driving up artificial financial incentives to convert farmland into thousands of acres of solar panels.

“I don’t blame the farmers. I respect and fight for the property rights of landowners. I do blame the failed policies and the false economy put into place by the Biden-Harris Administration. Farmers are our true conservationists,” said Gipson. “They are currently facing tremendous inflationary and regulatory pressures, making it challenging to stay in business, and those pressures are resulting in the expanded solar footprint across rural Mississippi.”

Multiple issues need to be addressed at a statewide level regarding proposed projects, Gipson said. He called for a statewide permitting process to ensure the environmental habitat as well as the economic value of Mississippi farmland are not harmed and added inflationary pressures are not put on farmers.

You can watch the full Solar Summit below.