Evergy announces plan for large solar farm near coal plant in Kansas City

Evergy will build a 10-megawatt solar farm near its coal-fired power plant in northeast Kansas City, the company announced on Wednesday.

The electric utility serves 1.6 million customers in Kansas and Missouri. Half of the energy produced at the solar farm will go to serve that entire base. The other half will be reserved for nearly 1,200 customers who participate in the utility’s solar subscription program, which allows users to pay a slightly higher bill to invest in renewable energy.

“As we break ground on the solar array, we want to remind customers of this opportunity to contribute to and benefit from renewable energy without the upfront expense and process associated with owning a home solar array,” Chuck Caisley, Evergy’s senior vice president and chief customer officer, said in a news release.

Evergy plans to construct the solar farm near its Hawthorn power plant, which sits next to the Missouri River northeast of downtown Kansas City. The site will consist of 22,000 solar panels and begin operations this fall. Using the existing infrastructure near the coal plant allows Evergy to build “one of the most cost-effective and largest solar subscription facilities in Missouri,” the release says.

Read more: https://kansasreflector.com/2022/01/05/evergy-announces-plan-for-large-solar-farm-near-coal-plant-in-kansas-city/