The Warren County Commissioners met with representatives from Invenergy, the company building the Split-Rail Solar Project on April 10. 

Matt Clausen, a project manager with Invenergy, said they were anticipating the delivery of large equipment that would impact traffic in the area, hopefully by the end of the month. 

“Best case scenario at this point, I think, would be the week of (April) 28th. We are trying to finalize those delivery dates and obviously, as soon as we know, we’ll let you all know,” said Clausen. 

The developers plan to deliver two transformers for the project using large self driving trailers with up to 48 axles. The transformers themselves weigh roughly 300 tons each and will require coordination with local and state officials as they are hauled south on Highway 47 to the project site. 

“It’s coming out of Laredo, Texas, from a storage yard, so it’ll take about a week to get up here,” said Site Manager Luke Williams. “So even once that final release is happening, it will have about a week to get everybody prepared.”

The solar project, largely located between Highways A and W in northern Warren County, is made up of over 30 interconnected properties. It is expected to produce roughly 300 megawatts of power once completed. 

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, one megawatt is enough to power more than 100 Missouri homes. 

Outside of the delivery of the transformers, Williams said the project was moving along and provided more specific updates on components that are being constructed. 

He said they are making progress with the installation of piles, racking and torque tubes, all components that are used to hold and stabilize the modules, or solar panels, on the ground. 

Williams said they had 18,000 piles left to install out of the 168,000 in total that are required. They are also 40% complete with the installation of racking and torque tubes, according to Williams. 

He continued saying they were about 80% done with work underground and he expected they would wrap up that portion of the project “here in the next few weeks.”

Solar panels are still being installed north of Powerline Road, according to Williams, with 16,000 panels remaining before they move to the south side of the road. 

They had also finished the foundation for the project’s substation and planned to begin construction there on the week of April 14. 

Williams said they had also been in contact with landowners on the project as they draw closer to completion informing them of where work will not be conducted. 

“We’ve reached out to the landowners, and we’ve given a map saying, here’s the land we aren’t going to use, go ahead and farm it. (We’re) just trying to mitigate our mowing for this season,” said Williams. 

The project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2026.