An Update on the Berea Solar Farm
The following article was originally published in Union Church’s November newsletter.
All 60 release contracts for the first phase have since been fulfilled. In light of such success, Berea Municipal Utilities is accepting applications for the second phase of the Berea Solar Farm. Click here for more information, or contact Joyce from Utilities at 859-986-4391.
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The Berea Solar Farm is Very Near!
The bids have come in, leasing began October 25, 2011, and construction on the first phase of the Berea Solar Farm will be underway very soon!
Berea Municipal Utility (BMU), with support from the City and an EECBG grant, is establishing the Berea Solar Farm – arrays of photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity. The purpose of the Solar Farm is to provide BMU customers who want to invest in local solar generation an opportunity to do so. The program invites community members to come together in moving Berea toward a better energy future.
Customers will be invited to lease up to two 235-watt solar panels from an initial array of 60 panels. The one-time lease fee of $750 per panel covers a 25-year period. In return, customers will receive credit every billing period for the electricity generated by their panels. In this way participating customers gain access to solar generation at an excellent price ($3.19 per watt). The limit of two panels is intended to encourage broader participation in this first 60-panel array.
The hope is that customer interest will lead to additional 60-panel arrays as time goes on. For any arrays after the first, the two-panel limit will be lifted. That opens the way for participants – whether residents, small businesses, churches, or schools – to plan a gradual increase in their panel holdings and a consequent increase in the portion of their total electricity use offset by their panels’ generation.
Any future growth in the Berea Solar Farm will be funded by customer participation. Customers who choose not to participate will not be asked to subsidize those who do.
Program Details
- 25 year lease contract
- A one-time $750 investment per 235 watt panel
- Receive credit on your monthly bill for the electricity generated by your panels
- Panels are located on BMU property with ideal orientation exposure to the sun
- Monitor the Solar Farm’s production at anytime from the comfort of your home
The panels will be owned and maintained by BMU and located on city property with excellent orientation to the sun and no shading. The program is ideal for customers who want local opportunities to invest in clean energy and have homes, apartments or businesses – owned or rented – not well suited for solar installations due to directional orientation or shade can’t afford the relatively large cost of installing an entire system on their property do not want to undertake the responsibilities of ownership are attracted to the idea of leasing panels and donating the billing credit to some other organization or person in the BMU service area – to a church or school, for example.
Another benefit of this panel-by-panel leasing approach is the ease of transferring credit for the electricity generated by leased panels. In the event a participating homeowner or renter moves within BMU’s service territory, the billing credits can simply be transferred to the new location.
If the move is to a location outside the BMU service territory, the leaser would need to sell or donate the energy generated by the panels to a BMU customer. If such a move involves selling a house, the house value could be enhanced to the extent that the panels serve increasingly to lower utility bills as coal-generated electricity rates increase over time.
Some may find it attractive to support a local non-profit in the BMU service territory – a school or church, for example – by leasing one or more panels and assigning the billing credit to that organization.
Some benefits of the Berea Solar Farm
- Allows more people at all income levels to participate in solar energy options, regardless of site issues such as shade or directional orientation.
- The program is self-sustaining and supported financially by only those customers who choose to participate
- Participants get peace of mind for supporting renewable energy and receive credit for the energy their panels generate
- Participating customers gain access to solar generation at an excellent price: $3.19 per installed watt
- Whatever electricity is generated locally by the Berea Solar Farm means fewer dollars leaving the community to pay wholesale electric bills
The Berea Solar Farm provides an opportunity for community members to come together to take greater responsibility for our own energy future. Union Church will be leasing two panels. It would be wonderful if a large percentage of the first-array leasers turn out to be Union Church people!
How can you sign up? Complete the “Berea Solar Partners Contract” form and return it with a check made out to BMU for the total amount due. Each panel is $750. You can pick up a contract form at the BMU office or download it from the utilities section of the new City website (www.bereautilities.com. There is also a link to the Berea Solar Farm on the City’s homepage that will take you to the downloadable contract form www.bereaky.gov. For more information, see the website or call Ed Fortner or Kevin Howard at BMU.
Founders Club
As a thank-you to customers who help launch the Berea Solar Farm by leasing one or two of the initial 60 panels, BMU will recognize them as members of the Founders Club. Founders Club members will receive a 6”x6” stained glass panel (pictured at the right) created by local artist, Diane Gilliam. A larger panel will be on display at the BMU office along with the names of all Founders Club members.
Steve Boyce
