Published 5:43 am Friday, August 28, 2026
By Lia Portillo
JEFFERSON – Marion County residents heard details this week at community meet-and-greet events about a planned 2,000-acre solar farm, with some attendees saying their fears about the project being connected to a data center were put to rest.
Pathway Power, the company building the $200-million solar farm south of Avinger, held the events Tuesday and Wednesday at the Kellyville Community Center.
Poster boards depicting renderings of the project, pictures of the location and informational posters about the company and of the science behind solar farms were displayed across the room. Representatives of Pathway Power were scattered throughout the community center to answer residents’ questions. 
Shar Parr, who lives near Lake O’ the Pines, asked about the project’s possible impacts on the region’s water resources.
“I have been very involved in fighting to save the water for our region and for our future, for our growth,” she said. 
Parr also asked if the farm is a precursor to a data center. 
“And (the CEO of Pathway Power) said ‘No, absolutely not.’ And I’m quoting him when I say that. And so I was happy to hear that, although skeptical,” she said.
Parr also asked if the solar farm is connected at all with a data center being built in Blanchard, Louisiana, to which she was told no.
She said Pathway Power’s CEO told her the solar farm’s battery storage system would require some water, but that it was “an evaporative cooling system, and he referred to it as a system that would be closed.”
Closed-loop systems require significantly less water than traditional open-loop systems used in data centers.
Given the proximity of Johnson Creek Reservoir to Lake O’ the Pines, Parr asked if Pathway Power intends to place “catchment rows to be able to catch the siltation or runoff during heavy rainfall.” 
She said she was told yes and that the company plans to reseed the area.
Parr said she is still skeptical about this project but appreciated being able to ask questions.
“I think that that’s an important move forward, is being able to sit down at the table and say, ‘OK, here’s this, here’s this. We know it’s coming. Now how do we best work together?’” Parr said. “Because we’re not going to stop. I mean, I’m sure that my grandmother at some point told somebody, ‘Don’t ever go to the moon!’ And so I don’t want to be that person. But I also want to be responsible, because I owe it to the younger generation to do that.”
Jimmie Alford said he is interested in the project as the solar farm would be 30 feet from his daughter’s house.
He wanted to talk to Pathway Power representatives to ask what to do in case of an emergency.
“I was trying to find out what we needed to do as a fire department in case (of a fire from the battery system),” said Alford, who is Avinger’s assistant fire chief. “Well, do nothing. We’re not going in there and messing with it.”
Jean Noe, who moved to the Johnson Creek Reservoir area six years ago, said she attended the meet-and-greet to learn what is true and not from information she read online.
“There was so much information flying around that I didn’t know whether it was the truth or rumor,” she said. “(The event) put a lot of those concerns to rest because it’s not at this point in time what anybody thought it was going to be. (Pathway Power officials) insisted they have zero to do with any data centers. They’ve not built data centers or constructed solar for any data centers. They have never partnered with any data centers, and (there’s) nothing in the future plan.
“So, at this point in time, I will believe them. And I think that most everybody’s concern was these data centers coming in. And I mean they’ve kind of put my mind to rest for that to rest for that for right now. We’ll see what the future brings.” 
Hunter Bonner, the chair of the Marion County Republican Party, said this event was “much needed.” He said it was important for Pathway Power to meet its neighbors and learn more about the community.
One of his concerns about the solar farm and its battery system is safety. He said he was able to speak with an expert in batteries who told him that the technology to deal with containment of fires has increased over the years.
“(Pathway Power officials) were also able to answer questions about where the arrays were actually going to be,” Bonner said. “A lot of people think it’s just going to be this one continuous field of solar arrangement, (but) based upon the renderings that they showed, it’s going to be kind of in different areas.”
While he said Pathway Power representatives were very receptive, there is still more information that county commissioners should consider ahead of the company’s tax abatement hearing.
Pathway Power is seeking a tax abatement from Marion County that would reduce the amount of property taxes the company pays over a period of time. The project is expected to generate roughly $13 million in sales and use tax during construction and nearly $58 million in property taxes during the next 35 years. The project has an expected lifespan of 35 to 40 years.
The tax abatement process includes public hearings during Commissioners Court meetings and a vote by commissioners.
“One question I asked him was, ‘At what stage are you with engineering plans?’ And they’re about 30% done with that,” Bonner said. “We really need to see those engineering plans, and I would definitely say that those engineering plans need to be available before the Marion County commissioners even think about having an abatement hearing on this.”
Before attending the meeting, Bonner had tried reaching out to Pathway Power staff and had a hard time getting in touch with someone. It’s something he says he hopes the company works on.
“While I am glad that Pathway came out and did hold the event that they did, they need to be a little bit more visible and certainly more accessible than what they have been recently,” he said.
He also encouraged residents to make their voices heard and reach out to their local party officials and local representatives with concerns or questions. 
Jam Attari, managing partner and founder of Pathway Power, said when he and his team start a large-scale project such as the solar farm, they try to engage with the community.
“There is both short-term and long-term impact, both positive and negative, and we want to make sure the community is aware of what we’re doing on site, and to find different ways where we can support the community,” Attari said. 
Other than hearing about water concerns, Attari said he talked about road disruptions, economic impact to the area and more.
“Certainly, people are concerned with road use and what that impact will be. So we’ll certainly work with the community to make sure that they understand when trucks are moving on to the site and minimizing the disruption caused by construction traffic,” Attari said. “People are concerned about safety. So we want to make sure that we’re bringing the right kind of information to help have people understand at the end of the day, (a) fire is not a concern, any leaching chemicals … just doesn’t happen on power projects like this.”
Attari added that regional business owners have already approached him about being contractors for the solar farm’s construction.
“Part of this outreach is not just to local residents, but I’ve already met with three businesses that operate here locally that will engage in conversations,” he said.  “We’ll see where it goes, but there’s a concrete plant that is very conveniently local, (and) there’s a civil contractor that’s also local. Part of our requirement for folks that will contract to build our project is that they will use local labor and local contracting sources.” 
Construction is expected to start next year with operation slated for late 2028. 
“What we want to be able to do is to communicate (about this project), and what that means for the community,” Attari said. “Both in a real sort of physical way, what’s going to go on during construction and what’s going to go on during operation, and that at the end of the day, our intent is to minimize any disruption while adding a strong impact economically to what we’re doing.”
For information, go to pathway-power.com. 
Lia Portillo is a Report for America corps member covering the Hispanic community in the area and more. She graduated from Northwestern State University of Louisiana where she hosted a student podcast called “Latino Living” and led the student newspaper. She’s excited to tell the stories of Harrison County.
Email her at lia.portillo@marshallnewsmessenger.com.

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