More Shreveport Jobs on the Way Thanks to SWEPCO’s Latest Project

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It seems like Shreveport has become a magnet for big businesses lately.  Amazon, the Teal Jones Sawmill, the $100 Million AEP facility, and more big projects are bringing lots of high-paying jobs to the area in a relatively short amount of time.  Now, energy juggernaut Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) is getting in on the action with yet another huge project in our neck of the woods.

SWEPCO's push to rely more on renewable energy sources (and less on their aging, coal-fired electrical generation plants) has gone into high gear in the last few years.  This past April, the company bolstered our power supply with the addition of a gigantic wind farm in Oklahoma - but their next project will bring that sweet, green energy a lot closer to home.

According to a report from KTBS, SWEPCO filed for the Louisiana Public Service Commission's approval on their latest plan: A huge solar farm just outside of Shreveport.  The Rocking R Solar project will reportedly be located about 20 miles north of Shreveport near Hosston, Louisiana.  The massive solar-power plant will be able to generate an astounding 72.5 Megawatts of electricity - that's enough to power nearly 65,000 homes!

It's a safe bet that construction of this facility will bring in lots of jobs, and I'm sure quite a few more will be added to operate it - but we don't know exactly how many just yet.  Because SWEPCO officials are still awaiting approval from the Louisiana Public Service Commission, no date for the start of construction or expected job numbers were available at the time of this report.