Solar Share Program

For less than 20 cents per day, you can help grow local solar energy in Kentucky that helps power our community.

  • Secure shares of solar energy for your home or business!
  • Avoid the up-front installation costs and long-term maintenance required for a private system.
  • Earn credits on your bill or gift them to a loved one, friend or organization important to you.

How it works

Step 1 – Choose a subscription level that is right for you using our Solar Share Calculator.

Step 2 – Enroll through our online form or by calling 800-356-5467.

Step 3 – After the array section that contains your subscribed shares begins to produce energy, track the solar generation data through our online dashboard available to all participants at no extra cost.

NOTE - A joint account can help ensure continuing benefits from your Solar Share Program participation as the makeup of your household changes over time.

See Solar Share in action

Watch live while our Solar Share Facility generates power.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions and additional information.

Subscription availability

We are now accepting enrollments for the sixth section of the array. The construction process will begin after it is 100% subscribed. Then we will accept enrollments for the following section up to eight sections.

100%

Sections 1-5

Are 100% subscribed
13%

Section 6

Is open and accepting enrollments.

Enroll now

Get an estimate

0%

Section 7

Is not open for enrollments until prior section is 100% subscribed.
0%

Section 8

Is not open for enrollments until prior section is 100% subscribed.

Requirements

Subscribe to shares of solar on a first-come basis.

  • You can choose one or more shares based on your preference and how to subscribe:
    • Monthly fee of $5.55
    • One time of $799 for 25 years
  • Each 250-watt share of solar is currently estimated to produce between 18 and 38 kilowatt-hours of energy per month, depending on factors like weather conditions and time of year. A typical residential household uses approximately 1,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month.
  • Participating customers must have an Advanced Meter installed at their premises prior to the array going live to access their solar data. LG&E and KU will install those meters at no additional cost.
  • This is not an energy savings program.
  • Please note that the term "share" does not create or imply any ownership or investment interest.
  • If a customer moves within the same service territory, their shares may be transferred to the new premise provided the customer notifies LG&E and KU of the transfer within 60 days of their move. If the customer does not transfer the shares within 60 days, the customer will be de-enrolled from the program.
  • For the full terms and conditions of the program, please visit our tariff information below on Sheet Nos. 72-72.3:
  • Monthly:
    • Currently, each subscription includes a monthly fee of $5.55, per share of solar, with no start-up costs.
    • The monthly fee is subject to change prospectively during the subscription period but would only do so if approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission.
    • The monthly payment structure requires a 12-month commitment from the date the solar charges appear on a customer's bill. If a customer leaves the program before the end of the 12-month period, the customer must pay the remainder of the monthly fees left to complete the original 12-month subscription. If a customer increases their number of shares during the original 12-month period, the 12-month commitment begins again at month one.
    • Customers who subscribe 50 kW (200 Shares) or more will be required to sign a five-year contract before their subscription is guaranteed.
       
  • One-Time:
    • In lieu of a monthly fee, customers now have the option to pay a one-time, non-refundable Solar Capacity Charge of $799 per share which covers the cost of that share for 25 years. This option is ideal for customers who don’t want an ongoing monthly payment or for customers who want to “gift” their solar credits to another LG&E or KU customer (e.g. family, friend, or local school, church or organization). LG&E and KU will send customers an invoice for their one-time charge, and their shares will not be guaranteed until the Company has received payment in full. If the recipient of the gifted shares decides to move and cancel their service with LG&E and KU, they have the option to re-gift their shares to another customer within the same service territory. This must be done by contacting LG&E and KU within 60 calendar days of terminating service or the shares are no longer available and returned to the program.

Please note that the term "share" does not create or imply any ownership or investment interest.  

This is not an energy savings program.

Benefits

Support the growth of local solar energy.

Participating customers are contributing directly to growing solar energy in Kentucky.

Avoid the up-front costs and long-term maintenance required for a private system.

This type of program is ideal for customers who want to support local solar energy, but are unable to install it on their own property or for whom a private system may be too costly. It’s especially appealing for renters, those with properties predominantly in the shade and those who have deed restrictions.

Receive credits on your monthly bill based on your subscription.

The Solar Energy Credit represents the monetary value of the solar energy that will be generated based on your subscription. This credit will vary each month based on the actual amount of solar energy generated by the facility.

The Solar Share Energy Offset is a credit for the monetary value of the energy you (the customer) consumed in the same 15-minute interval that the solar energy is generated. Learn more.

About the facility

Sections #6: Now accepting enrollments.

We are now accepting enrollments for the sixth sections of the array. The construction process will begin after it is 100% subscribed. Then we will accept enrollments for the following section up to eight sections.

Section #5: 100% Subscribed.

Section #5 went live in July 2022.

Sections 3 & 4: Went live June 2021.

Construction for both sections three and four are complete at the Solar Share Facility in Simpsonville, making them fully operational. Thanks to subscribers, development of the Solar Share site, which will consist of a total of eight 500-kilowatt (2000 Shares) sections, is now 50% complete.

More than 1,300 LG&E and KU residential customers, 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, subscribed to sections three and four.

Solar Share section 3 and 4

Section #2: Went live May 2020.

Construction of the second 500-kilowatt (2000 Shares) section in Simpsonville is complete. With the addition of the new 1,300 panel array, customers participating in the program are now helping produce a total of one megawatt of local solar energy here in the Bluegrass state ‒ with more room to grow. Kentucky Habitat for Humanity and Centre College were among the customers who subscribed to the second section.

a high angle view of the solar share sections
aerial view of the LG&E and KU solar share sections

Section #1: Went live July 2019.

Construction of the first 500-kilowatt (2000 Shares) section of LG&E and KU’s Solar Share Program began in early 2019 thanks to founding partner Ford Motor Company and other participating business and residential customers. The nearly 1,400 panel array became fully operational and began serving up solar energy for the Bluegrass in late July 2019.

The site, along Interstate 64 in the KU service territory near LG&E, is large enough to accommodate a four-megawatt solar field. The Solar Share facility will be built in eight 500-kilowatt sections, and each section represents 2,000 shares. The construction process will begin for each 500-kilowatt section after it is 100 percent subscribed.

Below is an aerial photo of the first array.

aerial view from the side of the first section of arrays

The four-board fence and new landscape buffers on the north and west side of the property along Conner Station Road blend with the surrounding area.

a distant aerial view of the first section of the solar share facility

In addition to installing fencing and landscape buffers around the outside of the facility to blend it with the surrounding area, LG&E and KU are planning to use property within the solar site to establish a pollinator habitat, rich with native plants that create an environment that attracts and supports pollinators such as native bees, honey bees and monarch butterflies, which have experienced population declines over the last decade. Other benefits of pollinator habitats include beautifying the landscape, supporting grassland birds, reducing water runoff and soil erosion, reduced maintenance costs and educational opportunities.

Gifting

Empowering individuals and businesses to meet sustainability and corporate responsibility goals

LG&E and KU Solar Share participants can support local solar energy in Kentucky that helps power our community in more ways than one.

In addition to supporting renewable energy and meeting sustainability goals, participants can also "gift" their solar shares to another person, business, or nonprofit organization important to them. Once the solar share has been “gifted”, that selected recipient receives the credits generated from the solar production for the next 25 years. For customers who have renewable energy and corporate responsibility goals, but don’t have the time or up-front investment to install solar on their roof or on their site, Solar Share "gifting" is a great option.

Advanced meters

Determine what you need to support 100% renewables, costs associated and the environmental impact. 

ram sheep at solar field

A new flock of woolly friends have joined our Solar Share facility in Simpsonville, Kentucky!

We are excited to share that we recently welcomed a flock of sheep to our Solar Share facility. The new flock consists of 49 ewes, or female sheep, and one male ram. The sheep will be grazing on grass and hay native to the area and already on the grounds of the Solar Share site. The flock is being cared for through a partnership with nearby Shelby County farm.

Business Partners

Building a more sustainable future for Kentucky is a team effort. Thanks to Ford Motor Company, our first major founding partner, along with communities, businesses and residents across the state, LG&E and KU are able to continue growing locally-produced solar energy that’s perfect for those who don’t want the up-front costs and long-term maintenance required with a private system. If you would like to join our more than 300 participants in creating a brighter energy future, while meeting more of your corporate sustainability goals, we encourage you to join us today.

Platinum Partner

(1,000+ shares)

Ford Motor Company

Gold Partner

(500-999 shares)

 

Silver Partner

(100-499 shares)

Habitat for Humanity

Ingersoll Rand Co.

MABS KY

Yamamoto FB Engineering LLC

Bronze Partner

(10-99 shares)

Fortitude Partners LLC

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Govt.

Louisville Aviation LLC 

Roll Forming Corp.

Side By Side Studio Inc.

The Center for Women and Families

Ursuline Society and Academy of Education

V G Reed and Sons Inc.

LG&E and KU Energy LLC reserves the right to revise program requirements at any time subject to approval of the Kentucky Public Service Commission. Estimated cost information is an estimate at time of evaluation and is subject to change.