May 4, 2020 – “Concern for community” is a core value for Silicon Ranch as we carry out our mission to bring to communities across the country low-cost, clean energy, economic development and jobs, and partnerships they can count on for the life of our projects. We consider it the highest honor to hear people such as June Merritt, the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners in Early County, Georgia, say Silicon Ranch “is a part of the community, just like I am.”
Consistent with our commitment to hire locally, we asked a local film crew to help us tell the story of our project in Early County that serves Walton EMC and Facebook. This excellent documentary-style film perfectly captures the essence of the Bancroft Station Solar Farm and what it means to the local community.
To support Facebook’s data center and corresponding investments in Newton County, Silicon Ranch employed more than 675 people to install more than 350,000 solar modules in Early County. The locally-sourced modules were among the first produced by Hanwha Q CELLS at its new manufacturing facility in Whitfield County, which is the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The Bancroft Station Solar Farm land is managed according to the principles of Regenerative EnergyTM by White Oak Pastures from nearby Clay County. As a tribute to the history of Early County, Silicon Ranch and its partners named the facility the Bancroft Station Solar Farm to honor the original name of the local area.
The Bancroft Station Solar Farm is testament to our commitment to empowering our communities. The project is having profound positive economic impacts not only in Early County but also across the state of Georgia, not just today but for decades to come.
“As a development authority, we’re looking for a couple of things. We’re looking for an increase in our tax base and we’re also looking for jobs. A lot of people have been given jobs locally during this and it leads to maybe some other opportunities that they may have in the same industry. So, we’ve accomplished a lot of our goals by having this project here.”
–Mike Newberry, Chairman, Early County Development Authority
“There were as many as 500 jobs available in this project…. But our kids, we’re hoping they’re learning work ethic, we’re hoping they’re learning about different careers or different jobs that are available, hopefully opening their minds up to what’s possible.”
–Bronwyn Ragan-Martin, Superintendent, Early County Schools