CU to dedicate solar farm

City Utilities of Springfield is slated to formally dedicate its 40-acre solar farm tomorrow.

Constructed, operated and maintained by Chapel Hill, N.C.-based Strata Solar, the nearly 22,000-panel, 5-megawatt solar farm on CU-owned land can produce enough energy for approximately 900 homes each year, according to a news release.

“Through this project, we’re able to provide a renewable energy option to customers, at a fixed cost, for many years," said Cara Shaefer, CU director of energy services and renewables, in the release.

In September, CU entered a 25-year contract with Strata to purchase all power produced by the farm. The agreement includes a buyout option for CU after the seventh year.

The solar farm began outputting energy on June 26. Late last month, CU officials said the site already had produced enough power to meet the demands of roughly 800 residential customers.

"Strata ... estimates that the annual output of the farm would be approximately 10,000 megawatt hours. That could be greater or less depending on the amount of sun the panels receive," CU spokesman Joel Alexander said via email.

CU is scheduled to dedicate the solar farm tomorrow at 10 a.m. It's located at 2915 N. Farm Road 209, near Interstate 44.[[In-content Ad]]