Transcript:
When driving through Panola County, Mississippi on I-55, you pass farm fields and industrial areas.
Azar: “We have so many manufacturers here in Panola County … and we’re really proud of that … very blue collar … a lot of welding, a lot of engineering, a lot of fabrication.”
But Joe Azar of the county’s economic development organization hopes drivers also notice a more recent addition to the landscape: a field of solar panels.
The solar farm is one of three that his group helped develop in partnership with the local utility and a company called ClearLoop.
The installations provide enough clean electricity to power about 3,000 homes.
They were financed by more than 30 companies who invested in them as a way to offset their own climate impact.
Azar says the projects send a signal to businesses that Panola County is a forward-thinking community that will work with them to meet their climate goals.
Azar: “We really try to serve our industries and keep them strong and keep them here and keep them reinventing themselves.”
So he says the highly visible solar farm along the interstate sends an important message.
Azar: “That one field speaks for our community, speaks for our county, speaks for Mississippi. I believe that.”
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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