Two more sections of facility now fully subscribed; construction to begin this spring
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) – LG&E and KU’s Solar Share facility is set to expand this spring. Thanks to the increasing participation of its business and residential customers, two more sections of the facility are now fully subscribed, setting construction plans in motion. With the new sections, development of the Solar Share site in Simpsonville – which will consist of a total of eight 500-kilowatt sections – will be 50% complete.
“Reaching the site’s halfway point is a milestone we’re thrilled to be approaching and one we couldn’t have reached without our customers,” said LG&E and KU Vice President of Customer Services Eileen Saunders. “We developed this program in response to our customers’ increasing interest in supporting local solar generation and advancing their sustainability goals, and that desire continues to grow across a variety of our customer categories.”
The subscription-based Solar Share program is a cost-effective option available to the utilities’ residential, business and industrial customers who want to support solar energy for as little as 20 cents per day.
When energy is produced by the facility, customers earn credits on their monthly bills based on their subscription level. By participating in the program, customers get the benefits from solar energy without having to pay the added up-front and long-term expenses that come when installing and maintaining a private solar system. Since July 2019, the facility has produced more than 1.5 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy for participating customers.
More than 1,300 LG&E and KU residential customers are subscribed to Solar Share sections three and four combined, along with several business customers including Louisville-area non-profit Center for Women and Families, Louisville-based printing and fulfillment services company V.G. Reed & Sons and the Campbellsville division of global industrial services company Ingersoll Rand.
Sections three and four will each consist of 1,150 solar panels. LG&E and KU has contracted with Solar Alliance Energy Inc. to engineer and construct both new sections. Construction will begin in March and is expected to be completed by this summer.
A total of eight 500-kilowatt Solar Share sections are planned for the Simpsonville facility, for a total of four megawatts. Construction of each section is completed as each becomes fully subscribed. The utility is currently accepting enrollments for the fifth section, which is now nearly 50% subscribed.
Customers interested in subscribing to the Solar Share program or learning more about LG&E and KU’s variety of renewable energy programs and initiatives can visit the company website at lge-ku.com/environment/solar.
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Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies, are regulated utilities that serve more than 1.3 million customers and have consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. LG&E serves 329,000 natural gas and 418,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 558,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia. More information is available at www.lge-ku.com and www.pplweb.com.
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