A partnership in East Mississippi will bring a solar-generating facility to the area to provide power for East Mississippi Electric Power Association and Tennessee Valley Authority customers.

Together with the Department of the Navy and the Silicon Ranch Corporation, the facility will consist of approximately 51,000 solar panels on 38 acres of land leased from the Naval Air Station Meridian. The facility will be funded, built, owned, operated and maintained by Silicon Ranch Corporation, a solar panel developer based in Nashville, Tenn. that builds large-scale solar projects in Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas and Mississippi. 

The Navy’s energy objectives encourage flexibility and energy resiliency, according to a press release for the event. In the event of a grid outage, energy from the solar facility can be directly routed to NAS Meridian. 

“Partnerships, like the one between the Department of the Navy, TVA, EMEPA and Silicon Ranch make us stronger and better equipped to complete our mission,” Capt. Scott Bunnay, commanding officer of NAS Meridian, said in a news release. “NAS Meridian’s success in effectively managing energy resources has been recognized at the highest levels of the Navy, and efforts like the solar project, to diversify energy sources help bases become more resilient and secure.”

Under normal circumstances, the generated energy will flow from NAS Meridian to the local EMEPA grid, which serves homes and businesses ithroughout Winston, Kemper, Lauderdale and Clarke counties and in six other neighboring counties. NAS Meridian is EMEPA’s biggest industrial customer.

“EMEPA has been a partner of NAS Meridian for nearly 59 years, and we continue to support their efforts in improving their viability,” Randy Carroll, EMEPA CEO, said in the new release. “This in turn aids in the growth of our community.”

A groundbreaking ceremony, commemorating the agreement, is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday. Representatives from NAS Meridian, TVA, EMEPA and Mississippi Public Service Commissioners will attend, among others.

“Projects like this prove that we can achieve multiple savings and benefits for the people of Mississippi and enhance the national security of America while enhancing military bases in our state,” Commissioner Brandon Presley said in the news release. “This is a win-win project. Using cost-effective solar power is using common sense.”

“The MS Public Service Commission is proud to be a part of the groundbreaking for this important project,” Cecil Brown, the Central District Commissioner, said in the news release. “We commend the Navy for leading the way in making renewable energy a reality for supplying our military with power.”