OPELOUSAS, La. (Acadiana News First) – Two fires at a solar farm in St. Landry Parish within the span of a month are raising concerns among nearby residents about safety and the potential spread of future fires.
One resident who lives near the solar farm and asked to remain anonymous said she witnessed flames along the equipment.
“I started seeing little flames on those wires and I was like, ‘Okay, that’s not good,” she described.
The resident believes wet weather may have prevented the fire from spreading further and worries about the potential impact on surrounding homes and families.
“I’m just concerned for my neighbors – where the smoke goes, who’s going to be breathing in the smoke, and when the flames hit the ground, where they’re going to be spreading to,” she explained.
However, St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard emphasized the solar farm is not at fault, describing the incident as an equipment failure.
“We can’t do anything about this,” he added. “This is equipment failure that took place on a piece of property. It could have been a farmer with a tractor, it could have been anything that happens. We can’t do anything to the solar farm because they didn’t do anything wrong.”
Bellard noted a component responsible for moving the panels burned out, creating sparks that ignited the dry grass nearby. He added that the solar panels themselves were not damaged.
“When that happens, sparks are flying, and dry like it is, the grass caught on fire. It’s not uncommon and there was no damage to the solar panel itself. It’s just the grass around it burned because it was so dry, but it’s not really a big concern,” he stated.
Bellard also said the parish has no zoning regulations in place to prevent additional solar farms from being built.
He explained the solar farm is expected to bring in $36,000 annually for 15 years and that he welcomes more projects like it, with additional developments expected to come to the parish in the first quarter of 2027.
The nearby resident added she hopes operators will address potential problems and take steps to better protect people living near the properties.
“Maybe it’s a problem they haven’t figured out yet, and I just hope that they’re staying on top of it for the property surrounding these fields and find better ways to protect the people that live around it,” she stated.
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