Final agreements have been made for Tradewind Energy, Inc., one of the largest independent wind and solar project development companies in the U.S., to sell two solar panel projects to Southern Power for construction in Decatur County.

The Decatur Parkway Solar Project, expected to produce 80 megawatts of solar energy on 750 acre of land, and the Decatur County Solar Project, expected to produce 19 megawatts on 170 acres, are scheduled to be operating by late 2015. Both projects are located at or adjacent to the Decatur County Industrial Park.

“We were thrilled that our Decatur County projects were selected by Georgia Power for this exciting opportunity, and since being selected we have found Southern Power to be an ideal partner for us to bring these projects to completion,” said Rob Freeman, CEO of Tradewind Energy. “We want to thank the officials in Decatur County for their tremendous leadership in helping to make these projects a true win-win for all involved.”

These two projects mark the second and third utility scale solar projects to be acquired and built by Southern Power in Georgia.

Their presence in Decatur County will also have an effect on the local community.

“This increase to our tax rolls will provide a huge benefit to the citizens of Decatur County and our Public School System,” said Rick McCaskill, Executive Director of the Development Authority of Bainbridge-Decatur County. “This has been a team effort among the county, Tradewind, Southern Power and neighboring industries such as the bio-polymer company MHG. Working with quality organizations such as Tradewind Energy and Southern Power has given the county a comfort level that these projects will be built to high standards.”

The Decatur projects were sited by Tradewind, and development began in June of 2013. They were among just 10 projects selected last year through Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power’s 2015 Advanced Solar Initiative bid process. The two Decatur projects represent nearly 20 percent of the total 515 MWs of capacity procured by Georgia Power. Power generated at both sites will be purchased by Georgia Power under long-term contracts. Georgia Power will receive the renewable energy credits (RECs) from the Decatur County Solar Project, and Southern Power will retain the RECs from the Decatur Parkway Solar Project, which it may sell to third parties.