A couple of items of interest today on the solar power front.
For one, Entergy announced it has won Public Service Commission approval to build a 250-megawatt solar power plant on 2,100 acres near Osceola.
It will be the company’s largest solar facility and capable of generating power for more than 40,000 homes, but it is being built in part to serve U.S. Steel’s Big River Steel facility. It is said to help U.S. Steel meet sustainability goals in the production of products made mostly from recycled steel.
For another, former Public Service Commission Ted Thomas filed a blast at the Petit Jean Electric Cooperative yesterday at the PSC over its resistance to PSC proposals on net metering — or credits for customers who use solar power. It’s technical but heated. It says the Co-op’s resistance to a plan allowing offsetting credits for small customers but grid charges for major solar installations produced the worst possible outcome for co-op customers in a court appeal, a total win for solar producers. He wrote the “harsh” but “absolutely necessary” eight-page statement, he said, in hopes someone would put a stop to a new Co-op strategy. He accuses the Co-op of incompetence and lack of understanding of utility law.
Having resigned from the Commission, Thomas has no say in future proceedings, but he was influential in his eight years on the commission. Frustration over solar issues was mentioned when his decision to step down was announced.