The Holliday Creek Solar Project was approved by the Webster County Board of Adjustments in January 2021. The project was officially completed in August 2022. Board of Adjustment January 2021 meeting information and supporting documents regarding the approval process for this project can be found HERE.
The Holliday Creek Solar farm is located three miles southeast of Badger, Iowa. It spans 700 acres making it Mid-American Energy's largest of six inaugural solar projects. The solar farm consists of 265,350 solar modules or panels, 45,00 piles, 140 inverters, 100 megawatts of energy, and 130,000 feet of drain tile. The total cost of the project was 200 million dollars.
The Holliday Creek Solar Farm can generate enough electricity to power 19,000 average Iowa homes.
The solar energy is absorbed by the solar panels and then travels to an inverter that converts the direct current energy into alternating current energy, which then goes to a substation and onto the power grid. It will go onto the grid and jump off where it is needed first.
The panels each weigh 770 pounds and are built on a single-axis track system. The rows of panels start the day facing east at a 52 degree angle and then follows the sun through the sky, ending the day facing west at a 52 degree angle. The solar panels are bi-facial, so the back side of the panels can also absorb solar energy reflected off the ground.
Unlike wind turbines, solar arrays are able to produce energy every day, even on cloudy days.
