Officials from state and local governments gathered Thursday to celebrate the successful launch of AL Solar A, 79.2-megawatt solar energy farm in Chambers County near LaFayette. Most of the energy will be sold directly to Walmart through a long term contract to help them meet their renewable energy goals. The facility has been online since December after starting construction in February of 2017.
The solar farm will pump out enough energy to power 18,000 homes but will be primarily sold to Walmart for the reasons stated above. The project consists of 338,662 solar panels spread out over 1,100 acres south of LaFayette along County Road 83. The panels can rotate to track the sun from East to West. This will be very beneficial in the Winter months to capture as much light as possible when the Sun is low throughout the day. The panels are split into 8 groups with landscaping to help with drainage and wildlife. With the amount of rain we get in this area, it expected to naturally clean the panels.
The project employed more than 450 workers at it's peak and currently has 3 full time workers with 4 more expected to be hired.