On a severely overcast day, the city of Nixa flipped the switch Nov. 14 to turn on what’s billed as the state’s largest solar farm. Officials say the 7.9-megawatt farm is now partially powering Nixa homes and businesses. Spanning 56 acres, nearly 33,290 solar panels stretch across the south side of Highway 14, just west of town. The solar farm is 72 acres in total.
On a severely overcast day, the city of Nixa flipped the switch Nov. 14 to turn on what’s billed as the state’s largest solar farm. Officials say the 7.9-megawatt farm is now partially powering Nixa homes and businesses. Spanning 56 acres, nearly 33,290 solar panels stretch across the south side of Highway 14, just west of town. The solar farm is 72 acres in total.
Developers and city officials held a dedication ceremony at 1565 W. Mt. Vernon St. to begin rolling out the new power. John Twitty, executive director of the Transmission Access Policy Study Group, above, serves as event emcee.
The panels create a wavelike pattern as they follow the sloping terrain.
Development plans for the farm began in mid-2015 with O’Fallon-based Solexus Development LLC, but Nixa officials say trouble with funding, state and county taxes, permitting and easements contributed to the project never breaking ground.
Nixa is scheduled to pay Gardner Capital 4.87 cents per kWh in the first year, with rates escalating annually to 8.69 cents per kWh by 2043. According to a news release, that’s less than what it pays now through agreements with City Utilities of Springfield and the Southwestern Power Administration, meaning Nixa will realize $2.5 million in savings during the contract length.
The farm has the ability to produce more than 15 million kilowatt hours per year, equal to about 9 percent of Nixa’s annual energy consumption. The city is in an agreement with Springfield-based Gardner Capital Inc., which owns the facility, to buy all of the generated power over a 25-year period.
The project had languished before Gardner Capital, led by principal Mark Gardner, above, came on the scene earlier this year and began working in earnest this summer with veteran solar farm contractor MC Power Cos., of Lee’s Summit. The dedication this month brings to culmination roughly 30 months of discussion and planning for the city.
City officials say Central Bank of the Ozarks, led by President Russ Marquart, seated at left, provided the financing and tax credit equity investment.
Utah-based gourmet cookie chain Crumbl Cookies opened its first Springfield shop; interior design business Branson Upstaging LLC relocated; and Lauren Ashley Dance Center LLC added a second location.