A newly proposed solar project on the east side of Washington Parish would dwarf two controversial solar projects on the west side of the parish.
Bogalusa West PV 1 LLC proposes to build a large solar project off of Highway 21 near Bogalusa that would produce up to 200 megawatts of solar power. Developers said the Boglausa project would involve between 150 and 300 construction jobs while the $200 million project is being built. The solar project, when completed, would have five employees to operate it.
A completed solar project at the LSU Experimental Farm near Franklinton and another nearby one that has been proposed for Sunlight Road are 50 megawatt projects, or about 1/4 the size of the project proposed for Bogalusa.
Each of the Franklinton area projects would need only one employee after construction is finished.
As with the two Franklinton-area projects, the Bogalusa project would produce electricity to be sold elsewhere. Washington Parish currently does not need additional electric power.
Walt Sylvest of Washington-St. Tammany Electric Co-op said that even through membership in the co-op has increased, no increase is anticipated in electric usage. That’s because electric consumption continues to increase in efficiency, he said. Household appliances and air conditioning units are constantly becoming more and more efficient, thus using less electricity.
