Regulators in Kentucky have given their approval to ACCIONA to develop and construct its first solar installation within the state.
Set to clock in at 188 MW, the Fleming County project is one of four in Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois that were part of a power purchase agreement with Amazon announced last year, a portfolio totaling 641 MW in capacity.
The project will sell power into the PJM regional wholesale electricity market via an existing East Kentucky Power Cooperative transmission line that crosses the property. A state siting board directed the developer to use anti-glare panels and operate the array to eliminate any glare. The developer was directed to submit the outcome of a glare study by mid-June, and the final decision for the project was conditioned on the siting board’s approval of that study.
That 188 MW capacity makes this project the largest in Kentucky history by a significant margin, as that total is more than triple the state’s current installed solar capacity of 60 MW. The Fleming County Solar Farm will create up to 300 jobs during construction. In addition, the project will be part of ACCIONA’s Social Impact Management program, which reinvests a portion of the project’s annual revenue into community efforts to improve education, wellness and environmental stewardship.
Outside of the Fleming County project, construction is expected to start later this year on the Illinois portion of the Amazon portfolio, set have a final capacity of 100 MW. The other two projects are in review with state permitting authorities. Construction the portfolio will help to put ACCIONA on track to achieve its goal of building 1,200 MW of new solar capacity by the end of 2023.
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What a giant leap in the right direction for the state of Kentucky. This is going to do very well and will most likely grow the alternative energy industry in the Bluegrass state from there. The best part is the good doesn’t stop there as stated in the article.. “In addition, the project will be part of ACCIONA’s Social Impact Management program, reinvests a portion of the project’s annual revenue into community efforts to improve education, wellness and environmental stewardship.”