Dollar Farm Products is in the process of bringing more than 20 acres of solar panels to Bainbridge, teaming with SolAmerica Energy and Georgia Power to create energy for users throughout the state.

The Georgia Public Service Commission has been pushing Georgia Power to team up with property owners to produce more clean solar energy. With the cost of solar panels getting cheaper and cheaper every year, land owners are investing as well.

Dollar Family Farms owns the land, Sol America is orchestrating the deal and Georgia Power will be the end user, Dollar Farm Products CEO Tommy Dollar said.

“It can’t all be coal, it can’t be all nuclear, it can’t be all solar, it cant be all ethanol, it cant be all wind driven,” Dollar said. “It has to be a combination of everything to drive this country forward. The cost of putting a solar array out here is probably half of what it was five years ago. Learning how to do it better is what’s pushing our country forward.”

Split between two locations, one behind Dollar Farm Products on Dothan Road and the other on Butler Ferry Road, owned by the Grimsley Family, the solar project will increase tax revenue for Decatur County and also provide income off of land that was nonproductive for Dollar.

“There is a lot feeding off of this,” Dollar said. “All that was over there was just scrubland with a bunch of poison ivy. It wasn’t being productive. Now it is a product.”

Dollar also mentioned the work opportunities created during the project, including workers that will potentially mow the grass on the properties.

SolAmerica provides end-to-end service for the lifetime of a solar array. The company’s goal is to provide every client with a customized solar solution that fits its energy needs, financial goals and sustainability targets.