CLAY COUNTY, MS — Courtesy of the Dispatch and Cullen Paradis
The Tennessee Valley Authority is looking into the potential impact of a proposed solar power plant to be placed North of West Point, and they want yo hear from you! They have begun gathering info about environmental concerns such as the potential effects on area residents and wildlife, as well as the environment, and they are also seeking comments of all kinds from locals with regards to things as general as the idea of the plant itself, which will produce enough energy to power 60 thousand homes, to things as specific as if there are burial grounds in the area or special wildflowers, as well as other issues that need to be addressed before they even begin. They want to know from people who know the area well, along with all who wish to share their own concerns about the project. Public commentary will be open for the next month, until April 14th.
“This is our first public touchpoint and allows the public to provide input on the scope of our environmental review – resources we should consider that we might not be aware of,” said Elizabeth Smith, TVA’s National Environmental Policy Act specialist. “Sometimes local landowners and community members know about cemeteries or native plants that we don’t. This is the time when the public can provide that.”
TVA spokesman Scott Fiedler, also spoke: “We’ve seen our region grow faster than the national average economically, outpace it in job growth, population growth,” he said. “And that’s the working age population and those under 20. Our focus now is adding additional energy. Our planning assumption includes about a 5,500 MW build-out of new generation through 2029, and we’ve already completed around 1,400 MW. We need that just to keep up with this growth we’re seeing.”
Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/500m-hope-solar-project-being-considered-for-clay/
