Stonewall County approves 5,000-acre solar farm

STONEWALL COUNTY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – A million-dollar project is making its way to Stonewall County, bringing renewable resources on 5,000 acres of land, with the potential to help power the state’s grid through solar energy.

Stonewall County Judge Ronnie Moorhead said the project, led by Swenson Solar, will benefit the county, especially given the recent decrease in oil rigs in the area.

“They’re going to be building a solar farm on about 5,000 acres. Should produce somewhere between 600 and 650 megawatts,” Moorhead said. “Small counties like us are heavily dependent upon our mineral values, the oil industry in the county, and that’s been declining significantly over the last few years. So, it’s good to see we’ve got something else coming into the county to offset those losses.”

The county commissioners voted to give the plant a 10-year tax abatement and use a PILOT, Payment In Lieu Of Taxes, plan. Moorhead explained how the county will benefit financially, in addition to potential employment opportunities for residents.

“We will be receiving $2,250 for each megawatt on the data plate for the first five years and then $2,500 for the second five years. So, it’s a sizable amount that the county will be receiving from that,” Moorhead said. “It’ll help the county maintain our infrastructure. We’ve got the 330 miles of county road that we have to maintain, the courthouse, keeping the court systems going, and all the other functions that the county has to provide.”

The energy converted could also potentially benefit the state’s grid, which Moorhead told KTAB/KRBC he is excited to be a part of.

“We’ve got a closed system in Texas, and we’ve also seen that when we have severe winters or extremely hot summers, we see some rolling brownouts around the state. We’re hoping that with these projects maybe they can eliminate that,” Moorhead said.

Resident Stacey Godfrey said she sees the benefit that solar panels could bring.

“The oil and gas, it’s always been up and down. It’ll always continue to be,” Godfrey said. “The solar panels, I think, will help boost our tax base and everything. So it should be good for the county. I don’t particularly like driving down there, but that’s okay too.”

Resident Leslie Ward said that while she does not like the appearance of the plant, she hopes it helps the community.

“I think there will be more jobs offered. Some of the people around here can get a job, but I don’t like the way they look. I feel like they take away from the land and the animals,” Ward said.

They hope to start construction in late 2025 or early 2026 and complete it by late 2026 or early 2027. Beyond solar, the company is also considering developing a battery storage facility and potentially a data center.