Meridian investors buy in on solar community

Thomas Howard, The Meridian Star, Miss.
Updated ·3 min read

Apr. 12—A group of Meridian investors is partnering with Mississippi Power and other industry leaders to build the city's first solar community.

LPK Architects' Bob Luke, who is an investor in the project along with his wife, said the goal is to build homes that will have net zero impact on the energy grid. The homes will have solar roofs, he said, that will produce at least as much if not more than the same amount of energy the homes use each year.

Luke said the plan calls for a gated community off of 10th Avenue, the first to be built in the City of Meridian, with approximately 25 homes. Each home, which will cost $400,000 to $500,000, will be outfitted with the latest in energy efficiency appliances and electric usage monitoring.

Of the 25 homes, Luke said the developers are working with three distinct floor plans, all of which are two-story, that vary from 1,800 to 3,400 square feet.

Josh Smith, from Mississippi Power, said the new homes will be outfitted with a substantial amount of new technology. Three model homes will be built initially as the developers work to sell lots. While that is underway, Smith said he will put one of the model homes to use teaching future homeowners about their homes' features.

Unlike other residential solar projects that involve installing solar panels on top of a traditional roof, Luke said these new homes will have true solar roofs. The technology, which is made by Tesla, a company well known for its electric vehicles, is very similar to asphalt shingles, he said, but the material has the ability to gather and store the sun's energy like solar panels.

The roofing material is rated to withstand up to 2-inch hail, Luke said, and comes with a 25-year warranty.

Since the plan is to build a gated community, Luke said the developers will be responsible for building the roads and utility networks throughout the neighborhood to where they tie into the city utilities. Upkeep of the community's public infrastructure will fall to the limited liability company set up for the development and later transfer to the community's homeowners association as people begin to move in.

Luke and the other investors in the project are asking the City Council to approve a Planned Unit Development zoning for their property. The property is currently zoned as residential R1, but the plan will put the homes closer together than what is allowed under R1 zoning regulations.

To get a PUD designation, the developer must get the city's approval of a detailed plan for exactly what they want to do with the property. PUD plans do not have to follow zoning restrictions.

The downside to a PUD, Luke said, is that the developer is locked into that plan and can't make changes without approval from the city. The lack of flexibility scares off a lot of developers who opt to work through the rezoning process or find another parcel of land that is already zoned to meet their needs.

For the solar homes community, however, Luke said a PUD is the right tool for the job.

Luke said the solar housing plan has already been approved by Meridian Community Development and the city's planning commission. The plan needs to be passed by the City Council as well before work could proceed.

The City Council is expected to vote on the PUD designation in its April 18 meeting.