Monroe County commissioners unanimously approved Tuesday a zoning application for a solar energy site just north of Georgia Power’s Plant Scherer.

Lilburn-based Solar Support Works filed the application in May for a 1-megawatt site in Juliette, nestled between Ga. 87 and the Ocmulgee River.

A representative of Solar Support Works addressed the commission before the vote, detailing the company’s plans.

Monroe County Commission Chairman Mike Bilderback said Tuesday’s approval included a stipulation in which the solar energy site couldn’t interfere with a nearby road, where the county has an easement to give access to the water treatment plant located nearby.

Monroe County’s Planning and Zoning Board reviewed and approved the application June 23.

Solar Support Works plans to buy 6 acres of a 103-acre tract on Camellia Plant Road and install about 3,300 solar panels.

Energy produced at the site will be sold to Georgia Power through a contract program that pays participants either 13 cents per kilowatt hour or on a sliding scale that starts at just under 7 cents per kilowatt hour.

The site is expected to generate enough power for about 130 homes and be operational in about a month.

About 30 solar sites already are at work in Georgia Power’s central region, which stretches from Hancock and Jasper counties south to Appling County, according to the utility.

Georgia Power has a goal of procuring 900 megawatts from solar facilities by late 2016.

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this story. To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398.