A new 10-MW Missouri solar farm will serve subscribing customers of all income types as well as the Evergy grid, the utility announced.
Evergy announced that construction of the solar array at its Hawthorn power plant is now completed. Half of the solar PV energy generated is allocated to customers of the utility’s Solar Subscription program, while 1 MW will serve participants in an income-qualified subscription program for Missouri customers.
The remaining 4 MW will go into the entire Evergy Missouri grid portfolio, although in the future that amount will transition to Missouri West and Missouri Metro Solar Subscription participants as the program grows.
Hawthorn Station is a 569-MW gas- and coal-fired power plant near Kansas City, Mo. Its last unit went into operation in 2001, and Every plans to close the coal-fired unit by 2025.
“Using Hawthorn’s existing land and infrastructure provided Evergy the opportunity to construct one of the most cost-effective and the largest solar subscription facilities in Missouri,” company Chief Customer Officer Chuck Caisley said. “Customers will benefit from these savings for years to come through access to economic local renewable generation.”
The new solar array is situated on 67 acres northwest of the Hawthorn plant. It includes 22,000 solar panels and is expected to generate 21,000 MWh of carbon-free electricity per year, according to Evergy.
So far, nearly 1,500 Evergy customers have subscribed through the Solar Subscription program.
