EKPC solar power facility approved by Kentucky PSC

The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) recently gave East Kentucky Power Cooperative Inc. (EKPC) approval to offer customers the ability to receive solar power without having to install solar panels on their roofs.

The approval establishes guidelines for EKPC customers, enabling them to lease the use of one or more panels located in a large-scale solar electric generating facility to be built in Clark County. The facility will have 32,300 panels and a total capacity of 8.5 megawatts.

The entire project will cost $17.7 million and will be built next year adjacent to the EKPC offices in Winchester. The facility is expected to begin producing power by November 2017.

Customers will be required to pay $460 to lease each panel for 25 years. The electricity generated through panels will offset customer’s electric usage. Through using alternate energy sources, customers will receive solar renewable energy credits that they can sell or retire. When customers purchase multiple panels, they have the ability to offset all of their electric usage.

The EKPC facility is the second community solar project approved by PSC in November. The commission also authorized Kentucky Utilities Co. (KU) and Louisville Gas & Electric Co. (LG&E) to establish a 4-megawatt community solar facility in Shelby County.