Locally grown clean energy for global impact: Cutting the ribbon at Oxbow Solar Farm

We made our first venture into US solar when we acquired Oxbow Solar Farm in Louisiana and Happy Solar Farm in Arkansas earlier this year. Together, the two sites total 395MW capacity. The acquisition was a significant milestone for JERA Nex, showing tangible progress towards our 20GW by 2035 target and marking our commitment to the US as a key market for growth. Last month, we held a ribbon cutting ceremony at Oxbow to celebrate. VP of Communications and Public Affairs, Ben Hunt tells us more.

Can you describe Oxbow solar farm?

Oxbow is a vast site – at 300MW and covering 1,800 acres which is twice the size of Central Park, it’s the largest in the state. We were lucky to be given a tour of the entire site on the day after the ceremony and I was struck by just how much land the site covers while being relatively inconspicuous. Driving on the main road through Point Coupee Parish in Louisiana, which is about an hour outside Baton Rouge, it would be easy to miss the site unless you ventured off the main road or knew where to look.

What did the ‘ribbon cutting’ ceremony entail?

We quite literally cut a ribbon. Development was completed earlier this year, and we officially acquired the site at the end of the summer, so the meaning of the ribbon cutting was two-fold, showing the site is now open and operating, and celebrating the start of the new chapter under JERA Nex’s ownership.

It was also an opportunity to connect with all those who have been involved in the project up to this point, and who will be going forward. We had local community leaders who were central in getting the approvals for the site to be developed in the first place, representatives from the senator’s office, the mayor, the landowners and their extended family, our partners at JERA Americas who we will be working closely with on the operations side and who did so much to get the deal done, and many others involved in getting the site to where it is today.

Having the opportunity to meet everyone in person was invaluable. It gave us a chance to speak about what the development process was like, any barriers that have been overcome, and what we need to prioritize moving forward. Particularly with the local community leaders, it was important to make the connection and show them our commitment to being not just a long-term partner but an active part of the community.

What was your biggest takeaway from the day?

Our industry is global but projects are local and every single one has its own unique characteristics. Every site visit is a valuable reminder of that. One of the key things that came across in our conversations with community leaders and the remarks from Major Thibaut, the Parish President, was the significance of the project to the people of Pointe Coupee. In such a rural, conservative community, the decision to allow the development of the project was not one that was taken lightly. Now operational, the project is a source of pride for those involved, not only because of the impact it has in increasing the overall portion of renewables in the state, national and global energy mix, but because of the impact it has and will continue to have, in the local community. It was a reminder that while JERA Nex is driving a global energy transition, the projects that make that happen are ones like Oxbow, embedded in local communities and we take very seriously our responsibility to those communities.

What’s next?

The next stage is about integration and managing the transition period for the site. As with any period of change, this needs to be handled sensitively and with health and safety at the forefront. To that end, we are working closely with our sister company JERA Americas to ensure our teams are coordinated, whether on the ground or globally. Spending the day with the team, local leaders and those involved in the project’s day to day, it really felt like the site has already developed its own community, one we’re very much looking forward to seeing evolve and grow in this next phase.

Find out more about Oxbow and our other projects here.