By Pat Culverhouse
Webster Parish could be home to an 86-acre solar farm depending on future action of the parish police jury on a permit request from a Missouri independent power production company.
Michelle Zimmerman, Director of Development for Birch Creek, a company involved in utility scale solar development with headquarters in St. Louis, gave jury members a look Tuesday at what the company is proposing to develop on land south of Sarepta.
Her presentation came during the police jury’s road committee meeting prior to the regular session.
Zimmerman said the project would be located on CVOC Rd. and is estimated to cost roughly $20 million. Generation lines would connect to Entergy power lines at the site. Construction would take approximately seven to nine months, she said.
Discussions with Entergy are underway and could be completed by August, she told jury members. In response to a question from Parish Attorney Patrick Jackson, Zimmerman said Tuesday’s presentation was to provide information for a potential vote in August.
Neighboring property owners have received letters of the company’s intentions, she said.
Benefits of the proposed solar farm include enough generation to provide power for approximately 2,000 residential homes. During the construction phase, 74 full-time jobs would be generated and the company would be contributing to Webster Parish property taxes.
Zimmerman told jurors that parish roads would not be negatively impacted by trucks during the construction phase, pointing out that loads would be considerably under load limits.
“We will review all the roadways before and after construction, and we will make any repairs that might be necessary,” she said.
According to its website, Birch Creek was founded in 2019 by a group of solar industry executives. Since its inception, the company reportedly has developed 36 utility scale solar projects throughout the nation.
Future sites for solar farms are also under consideration by Birch Creek in neighboring parishes including Bienville and Claiborne, Zimmerman said.
In other business during Tuesday’s meeting, police jury members:
• Agreed on a resolution to assist the town of Shongaloo with repair of pot holes inside the town limits, to bushing ditches and to stripe roads.
• Approved proceedings of the road and finance committees.
• Adopted the resolution and the local hospital assessment plan for the police jury for 2025.
• Approved appointment of Denise Miller for a two-year term to the board of directors of Evergreen Fire Protection District. Term to expire December 31, 2027.
• Heard monthly reports from a number of parish agencies.