Ørsted’s largest solar farm will power 80,000 Texas homes and businesses while supporting conservation of rare, native tallgrass prairie habitat
PARIS, Texas, Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Ørsted, a leading developer of U.S. renewable energy, today celebrated the commencement of the Mockingbird Solar Center in Lamar County, Texas. With a capacity of 468 MW, the Mockingbird Solar Center is Ørsted’s largest solar project to date, generating domestic energy that will help meet growing demand. The company is also celebrating the completion of a 953-acre land donation to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for conservation. This donation establishes the Smiley Meadow Preserve, a new protected area that conserves vital tallgrass prairie habitat, supporting biodiversity and ecosystem health in the region.
“We are delighted to commission Ørsted’s largest solar project and deliver domestic and reliable energy to the Texas grid,” said Melissa Peterson, Head of Onshore Development and Origination at Ørsted. “We are very proud of this transformative project. In addition to progressing our goal of building out more American energy, we were able to form a meaningful partnership with The Nature Conservancy, advance our biodiversity commitment and preserve an important piece of Texas’ land and heritage for future generations.”
To celebrate this important conservation initiative and the economic benefits the project will bring to the local community, Ørsted hosted a celebration attended by The Nature Conservancy, corporate partners, landowners, community members, and local and state elected officials. Ørsted hosted the event at the site of the newly established Smiley Meadow Preserve.
“Through the power of partnership, Ørsted has helped The Nature Conservancy protect an irreplaceable landscape that might otherwise have been lost to development,” said Suzanne Scott, The Nature Conservancy’s Texas State Director. “We are deeply grateful for Ørsted’s willingness to work with us in preserving this pristine prairie, advancing beneficial outcomes for Texas’ ecology and our economy. This project exemplifies the value of collaborative conservation in our state.”
Prairies are hardworking ecosystems that provide a host of environmental benefits – including carbon storage, flood prevention, and boosting pollinator habitat. Less than one percent of the original Texas tallgrass prairies survive today, and less than five percent remain nationally. The Ørsted-TNC conservation agreement is the largest preservation effort for a rare type of native prairie found only in Texas. The Smiley Meadow Preserve contains more than 400 species of grasses and wildflowers.
“Native prairies are the rarest landscapes left in Texas – so much so that many people have never seen one,” said David Bezanson, Land Protection Strategy Program Director for The Nature Conservancy in Texas. “Smiley Meadow is one of the best remnants left. Saving a significant portion of it will help us restore other prairies, hold onto our land heritage, and reestablish biodiversity that we’ve lost.”
The Mockingbird Solar Center represents a half billion-dollar investment in Texas, part of Ørsted’s $20 billion investment to build out U.S. domestic energy generation. The project will power the equivalent of 80,000 homes and businesses in Texas, providing additional capacity needed to power the ERCOT grid. In addition, the project will contribute $75 million in local property tax revenue for the local school districts and other public services.
“This project and partnership is something everyone in our community can be proud of,” said Mihir “Mark” Pankaj, Mayor of Paris. “Preserving natural habitat and generating clean energy is a win-win situation, and we appreciate Ørsted’s efforts to source from local businesses and support our local economy.”
In line with Ørsted’s commitment to being a good neighbor in host communities, the project provided many local benefits. Construction of the Mockingbird Solar Center created over 550 jobs, and the project will be supported by long-term operations and maintenance staff. Ørsted worked with American companies, such as First Solar, in procuring panels, as well as local businesses, such as Drake Construction and Pfifer Farms, in purchasing materials for construction of the project. In addition, Ørsted donated over $50,000 to the Roxton and Brookston Volunteer Fire Departments, volunteer organizations that protect and serve the greater Lamar and Fannin Counties.
“On behalf of the Roxton and Brookston Volunteer Fire Departments, we want to thank Ørsted for their support,” said Robert Patterson, Fire Chief of the Brookston Volunteer Fire Department. “The contributions toward the bay extension for housing our new ladder truck in Roxton, currently under construction, and the purchase of a utility vehicle in Brookston are invaluable to our efforts. This support strengthens our departments and helps us better serve our communities.”
With Mockingbird Solar Center officially online, Ørsted now has a portfolio of over 6 GW of onshore wind, solar, and battery storage projects in operation or under construction across the US.
About Ørsted
A global clean energy leader, Ørsted develops, constructs, and operates offshore and land-based wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants. Ørsted was the first energy company in the world to have its science-based net-zero emissions target validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and is recognized as the world’s most sustainable energy developer in the Corporate Knights Global 100 index.
In the United States, the company has approximately 800 employees and a portfolio of clean energy assets and partnerships that includes offshore wind energy, land-based wind energy, solar, battery storage and e-fuels. Ørsted is a U.S. leader in offshore wind energy with approximately 1.6 gigawatts in construction, and 3 gigawatts in development. It also operates America’s first offshore wind farm, located off the coast of Block Island, and the country’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm, South Fork Wind. Ørsted has a total U.S. land-based capacity of ~6 gigawatts across wind, solar, storage technologies and e-fuels. To learn more about the Ørsted U.S. business, visit us.orsted.com or follow the company on X (@OrstedUS), Instagram, and Facebook.
SOURCE Ørsted