Cleco joins massive solar project near Mansfield; more power, more options

A “challenging, long” solar project is now happening in a part of DeSoto Parish that was once known only for dirty lignite coal.

“This is a project that’s taken multiple years, many issues that we’ve had to work through,” DESRI CEO and co-founder David Zwillinger, told the crowd at the groundbreaking ceremony for Dolet Hills Solar.

Zwillinger’s company, D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments, is already known in northwest Louisiana as owners of the Rockin’ R Solar Farm in north Caddo Parish.

DESRI’s current portfolio is roughly 70 projects in 24 states for close to 10 gigawatts of solar.

But the $250 million DeSoto project is something altogether different.

It is DESRI’s first partnership with Cleco, an expansive electric utility that stretches from Mansfield and Natchitoches across central Louisiana, south to the coast and includes a portion of the New Orleans metro.

This is also Cleco’s first solar project in the company’s 95-year history.

The project is large; at 3,000 acres it is one of the largest solar farms in the state.

Some 1,000 acres of the Dolet Hills property is former lignite land and the project sits on top of a particularly productive portion of the Haynesville Shale.

The surface-dwelling Dolet Hills Solar will coexist with natural gas activity thousands of feet below.

Though the Nov. 14 groundbreaking was the first step, Zwillinger told the crowd there is still much work to do, work that will involve 250 construction employees who will be on the job until at least 2027. Once up and running, Dolet Hills Solar is projected to be operational for 25-35 years.

“Our goal is to be the leading energy company in the state,” Shane Hilton, Cleco Chief Commercial Officer, told The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate. “And we’re doing that for a lot of reasons. One, because we’re very conscious about the needs of our customers and reducing our carbon footprint, and also, we’re also responding to what our customers are asking for.”

Hilton said he does not believe this solar project would be Cleco’s last. “Louisiana is really poised to be a better solar-producing state than the other technologies. And so until a better mousetrap is invented, we’ll continue to look at solar opportunities.”

Cleco is also presenting the opportunity for solar electricity in a different way. The company was given permission by the Public Service Commission to create a Go Green Tariff that will take effect when Dolet goes online.

Hilton said by opting in, customers will be able to use clean energy electricity without the expense and maintenance of installing residential solar panels.

“From an economy of scale perspective, we come in and do a massive operation like this, you’re paying a very small fraction of it at that point, instead of all the infrastructure and investment you have to put on your house.”

While the particulars of the Go Green Tariff are still being determined by the PSC and Cleco, it will be available for residential and commercial customers and will include an upcharge from regular rates. The tariff will begin only when Dolet Hills Solar is functional and is opt-in only.

“It gives them (customers) an option if they’re conscientious about it and really want to do their part to help impact their carbon output, carbon footprint,” said Hilton.  

With the addition of Dolet, Cleco will have additional power to spare.

According to Hilton, the solar farm will create about half a million-megawatt hours, some 6% of Cleco’s total energy. In residential terms the power from Dolet Solar could run 37,000 to 50,000 homes depending on their electrical needs.

That same power will be available to commercial and industrial users who have made clean energy promises to stockholders.  

“The Proctor & Gambles of the world, Walmarts of the world, you know, guys like that, they’re really conscientious about their carbon footprint, and they want to see optionality in their rates and the products that we can offer.”

Braeden Smith, Gov. Jeff Landry’s Chief Resilience Officer, said targeting potentially contaminated Brownfield sites for solar is a good use of land that otherwise would be limited in its use or need expensive remediation. Roughly 1,000 acres of the Dolet site is considered brownfield.

Smith stressed another solar benefit.

“It does help us with our European trading partners, being able to source this clean energy.  I know a lot of folks don’t want coal anymore, especially our foreign buyers in Europe. If we’re able to turn this into a source of clean energy, it will help us sell many of the products that we make and manufacture here in Louisiana.”

Mansfield, DeSoto expect to see economic impact

Representatives of the city of Mansfield and DeSoto Parish were on hand at the groundbreaking to accept checks- $100,000 for the city, and $800,000 for the parish, part of DESRI’s community development agreement.

The city and parish agreed to incentivize the project with a 10-year Payment in Lieu of Taxes. For the decade, Dolet Hills Solar will be assessed at a level of 50% ad valorem tax.

Mansfield Mayor Thomas Jones, a 30-year Cleco manager, said there is give and take, and the good outweighs any criticism.

“When they start construction here, those folks will be coming through Mansfield, they’re going to be spending money for us. And then when the jobs land here, they’re gonna be permanent jobs” said Jones. In addition, the excess power generation puts the parish seat in a good position to attract another manufacturing facility.

“When your community is thriving,” said the mayor, “People like to be a part of it.”