Anchorage, Alaska, to build first community solar farm

The Land of the Midnight Sun is getting what is reportedly its first community solar farm, thanks to the Chugach Electric Association that serves the state’s largest city of Anchorage.

Members of the co-op will be able to start purchasing shares in the project starting on March 1. They can either pay for the electricity up front or subscribe for a minimum of one year.

As with most community solar projects, solar-share customers will receive electricity in the amount equivalent to the number of shares they purchase, credit for which they will receive each month on their bills for the projected 25-year life of the project.

An installation comprised of 1,700 solar modules is expected to produce 600 MWh of solar electricity per year.

The co-op completed the initial evaluation of a 500 kilowatt project, which it says will cost $2 million or less. Chugach did caution that continued development is contingent upon receiving favorable financing, pre-subscribing 80% of the available shares and receiving the necessary approvals from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

This article was edited at 3:28 pm on 1/16/2018 to make the point that while Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city, it is not the state’s capital as originally stated. That honor falls to Juneau.