Denmark’s Ørsted to Develop Mockingbird Solar Center in Texas

Global clean energy company based in Denmark, Ørsted has said that it has taken a final investment decision (FID) on 471 MW Mockingbird Solar Centre, a solar power plant, in the Texas, the USA. The decision also includes the donation of 1,000 acres of tall grass prairie for the purpose of conservation.

The Solar Projects  

Ørsted is developing the 471 MW Mockingbird Solar Center in Lamar County, Texas, on approximately 4,900 acres. This acreage includes the Smiley-Woodfin Native Prairie Grassland, the largest contiguous remnant of a rare and threatened type of native prairie found in only a few counties in north Texas.

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Daniel Willard, Biodiversity Specialist at Ørsted, said, “We need to deliver green energy for this generation while protecting natural habitats for the next. That is why we’ve prioritized the Smiley-Woodfin Prairie in Texas as our first biodiversity initiative in the United States.”

The construction on the Mockingbird Solar Center by Ørsted is set to commence next week. The Solar Power Project is expected to bring new construction and maintenance jobs to the area and new tax revenue for the community and school districts over the life of the project.

Ørsted held that Mockingbird Solar Center will produce enough clean energy to power more than 80,000 homes. In addition to generating power and preserving rare and threatened habitat, Ørsted’s Mockingbird Solar Center will provide a significant economic boost to the local community in Lamar County over the life of the project. These benefits include at least 200 jobs during construction and additional ongoing work during operations and maintenance, as well as tax revenues.

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The solar project will be completed in 2024. The official statement of Ørsted held that the over the life of the project, Mockingbird Solar Center is expected to inject over $215 million dollars into the local economy.

The Conservation Efforts

Ørsted has collaborated with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to protect almost 1,000 acres of native prairie. Less than one percent of the original tallgrass prairies of Texas survive today, and less than five percent remains nationally. The Ørsted-TNC conservation effort, Ørsted said, will be the largest preservation effort on record for this type of native prairie and Ørsted’s first biodiversity initiative in the U.S.

Ørsted will purchase almost 1,000 acres of prairie on site for the purpose of donating it to TNC to manage, preserving the habitat from future development. The land to be preserved will be transferred to TNC before the solar farm enters operations and begins delivering clean energy to the community.

“The Nature Conservancy has long recognized the unique significance of the Smiley-Woodfin Prairie,” said TNC State Director Suzanne Scott. “Our goal is to manage the native prairie conveyed to TNC to maintain and enhance its biological and botanical diversity. In collaboration with Ørsted, we aim to reduce impacts on native vegetation within the remaining property and provide guidance on how to steward this land going forward.”