Officials have finalized an agreement to construct a new solar energy park in Delaware.
With a price-tag of about US$50 million, construction is expected to begin on the state-of-the-art, 10-megawatt Dover SUN Park (DSP) later this year.
According to a report in the Dover Post, state and local officials met in Dover City Hall to sign the final agreements on June 15th, 2010. The new facility will be located on 103 acres of city-owned property in the 387-acre Garrison Oak Technology Park in East Dover. The industrial park has sat vacant for years.
While the project marks the largest utility-scale solar power plant in the region, very little manpower is needed to operate the facility. Over 3,000 solar panels will generate enough electricity to power approximately 1,300 homes.
The project will also create up to 150 local jobs during the construction phase. More than 1,400 saplings will also be planted in a field next to the park. In terms of solar power generated per resident, the park’s output will place Delaware third in the nation.
The 10MW facility will be constructed and operated by White Oak Solar Energy LLC, an affiliate of LS Power. Dover has signed a 20-year agreement to buy all the power produced by the plant.
The plant should be operational by next summer. Plans are in the works for a new natural gas burning plant to be built next to the new park.
Dover, the capital of the state, is located about 90 miles east of Washington, DC and 90 miles south of Philadelphia. Delmarva Power, Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation, Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility and LS Power will also participate in the project.
Photo courtesy of John Nyberg
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Jace Shoemaker-Galloway is a freelance writer from Illinois. While much of her writing focuses on technology, parenting and online safety issues, she has a strong interest in environmental and renewable energy-related issues as well.
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