JASPER COUNTY, Miss. (WDAM) – The Mississippi Public Service Commission has green-lit one of two solar farms proposed earlier this year for Jasper County.
The first farm, known as Jasper Solar, was proposed by Walden Renewables and approved by the commission on July 17.
The project is set to span over 3,000 acres along County Road 16 in the Paulding community at a cost of around $310 million.
“I don’t know that we’ve had any kind of economic project that’s been that large,” Jasper County Board of Supervisors Attorney Ricky Ruffin said.
Walden Renewables had requested an in-service date of Dec. 31, 2026, according to the PSC.
Since May’s public hearing, Ruffin said crews have started the early phases of construction.
“They were required to do some construction work to keep maintaining their application,” said Ruffin. “It’s my understanding they did that back in the summer of 2025.”
The commission said that the second farm, known as Shubuta Creek, will be built on 1,200 acres of land on County Road 41 near the Pachuta community.
Grenergy U.S.A. is behind that project, which is expected to cost around $230 million.
As of Dec. 2, 2025, that project continued to await approval.
“It’s still pending as far as we know,” Ruffin said. “We have not been contacted by them (Grenergy) in probably three or four months now.”
The Shubuta Creek farm is expected to be ready for use by April 2029, with construction taking approximately 18 months, according to PSC.
Ruffin said both facilities will be exempt from 80% of the tax bills and pay back 20 percent, which will be split between the county and the East Jasper School District.
“It could easily mean $1 million to the county and school district over there in lieu of taxes,” said Ruffin.
Back in May, residents voiced concerns over the farms’ potential environmental impact.
A petition was created, asking for construction to be halted until more information is available on the farms’ impact on local wildlife and waterways.
According to the commission, Walden and Grenergy have maintained that they will obtain all necessary environmental permits before and after operation and make them available to the public.
Once the farms open, Ruffin said the county will go back and ensure any damage to roadways is recorded and accounted for.
“We’re going to do an investigation of the roads when they tell us they’re ready to go,” said Ruffin. “Once they’re through, we can go back and assess damages because we’ll have a benchmark then.”
Both companies previously shared that there will be several temporary construction jobs available once work begins.
A public hearing has not been set for the Shubuta Creek project.
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