LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – East Kentucky Power, a nonprofit electric cooperative, wants to build solar panels on a 384-acre site between I-64 and US 60 on the far eastern edge of Fayette County. to the Fayette/Clark County line.
“In the long run, the sun is long-lived. The standard warranty for solar power manufacturers is 25 years. So when solar is installed, a lot of clean energy is generated,” says Joshua Bills, Principal Energy Analyst.
Bills explained that the energy cooperative also gets an exclusive contract to build solar installations thanks to federal legislation designed to promote clean energy. Now, this proposed farm is expected to generate 40 megawatts of energy, enough to power about 4,500 homes.
EKPC CEO Tony Campbell said in a statement that it would help “meet the growing demand for sustainable energy, particularly among businesses and industries.”
But Lexington City Leaders hope to put the plans on hold for now.
“If there is an interest in making the best project possible, people should look at what plans or parameters are available. Like, is there an end-of-life decommissioning plan?”
Mayor Linda Gorton’s office asked the Kentucky Public Service Commission to intervene in the case.
“It takes time to learn and plan,” Gorton said in a statement. Continuing, ‘we should have a say in the location of such projects.’
“You know there’s a growing trend to combine and combine agriculture with solar power generation, which is going to be harder to do now with a natural gas or coal power plant.”
East Kentucky Power also plans to add another solar farm in Marion County. Together with Fayette County Farm, they could generate enough electricity to meet the annual energy needs of more than 15,000 homes.
There is a public meeting for the Marion County Project on Thursday night.
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