Kennett Board of Public Works, Evergy bringing solar farm to city

KENNETT, Mo. — The Kennett Board of Public Works (KBPW), in conjunction with Evergy Energy Partners, plans to break ground on a 30-acre solar array in 2024, which will generate more than 5 megawatts of energy to power nearly 1,000 homes in Kennett.

The project comprises 7,800 individual solar panels, which will be installed on 30 acres of city-owned land, south of County Road 508 and west of County Road 551. It will provide enough electricity to power 965 homes and serve up to 15% of the City of Kennett's peak demand, according to a news release, .

"KBPW chose Evergy Energy Partners through a competitive request for proposals (RFP) process to choose a solar energy solution that benefited the entire community," the release stated. "KBPW is committed to a sustainable future while understanding the importance of ensuring affordable power."

KBPW CEO Jamie Chitester said he expects customers to see a decrease in cost for their electric rates once the solar array is operational.

"The cost of power that we'll get out of that is roughly $26," Chitester described. "Last month, power was running $33 on average, just for a ballpark. There will be times when it's cheaper, but there are times in the summer when it is $180."

In all, he said the average cost of power over the next 30 years will continue to be around $26. Chitester said he also expects the project to fully pay for itself in due time. A study done on a smaller scale showed the project could have a "15-year payoff" and, because the panels have about a 30- to 35-year life span, there could potentially be around 15 years of "essentially free" power.

While doing research, he found this year Kennett's power consumption peaked around 30 megawatts. He explained that Kennett gets 11 megawatts of hydropower from Southwestern Power Administration so, in addition to the power provided by the solar array, half of Kennett's power capacity can be sourced from renewable sources.

"We're looking at having more than half of our load served by clean, renewable energy when this comes online." Chitester explained. "That's a huge deal for a community this small to be able to say we're doing that. Now, 16 of our 30 megawatts will be clean energy."

The City of Kennett also has carbon, gas-fired units, which will serve as a backup for the solar array.

Chitester said the project has been in the works for the last eight or nine years.

"It's been something we've talked about doing for a long, long time," he said. "I've been working on it since I've been here about a year and a half ago. We went through the bid process, got a couple different quotes and we're now going forward with Evergy."

Representatives for Evergy Energy Partners were in Kennett last week, including project managers to discuss planning on-site and financial representatives to work on grant applications to help pay for the project.