New Solar Farm ‘Bright Spot’ for Washington County Economy

DAVISBORO, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – One of the state’s largest solar farms is getting ready to flip the switch in Washington County, transforming a vacant rural area into a ‘bright spot’ for the city of Davisboro and solar energy across Georgia.

Acres and acres of more than 30,000 solar panels sit atop a hill in the city. Once construction crews clear the way for the grids, they will generate 7.7 megawatts, enough to power 2,000 households. Dominion, the company behind the creation, is selling the energy to Cobb EMC, a plant near Atlanta. Washington County is providing the land and the labor for the project.

“The site has hired about 100 locals and on average probably 80 have been working on site,” said Patrick Hebert, Dominion’s Azalea Project manager.

Construction is expected to be complete in December and once things wrap up, the facility will overall be unmanned. Dominion plans to hire one person to oversee the entire project. Charles Lee, director of the Washington County Development Authority, said despite the limited jobs, the impact on the economy is long-term. The site is one of the largest in the southeast and the company has invested $30 million into the community.

“We suffered from the economic downturn just like everyone else,” Lee said, “a lot of people are unwilling to make capital expenditures and venture out particularly into new forms of business.”

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