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In Kentucky, solar power is enjoying its day in the sun. On April 19, energy company officials and political leaders unveiled the state’s largest solar facility at E.W. Brown Generating Station in Mercer County. The facility is currently in its testing phase and will be fully operational by June.

Owned by Kentucky’s two largest utilities, the facility occupies 50 acres of property at E.W. Brown, 815 Dix Dam Road in Harrodsburg. The plant also includes coal, natural gas and hydroelectric generation, reflecting a diverse fuel mix deep within the bluegrass.

Kentucky’s largest “universal solar facility” boasts more than 44,000 photovoltaic solar panels on a fixed rack system that is tilted to optimize the available sunlight. It was approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission in December 2014.

“Kentucky’s low-cost energy, based on its use of coal, has been the backbone of our economy, bringing manufacturing jobs to the Commonwealth,” Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Charles G. Snavely said. “With the uncertainty in our federal regulatory environment, helping advance other sources of energy in Kentucky provides flexibility and makes good sense.”

The facility will allow the utilities to learn more about photovoltaic technology, including how solar energy is impacted by cloud cover and how it integrates with the existing generating units.

More about how energy fuels daily life at courier-journal.com/energymatters.

Knocking down electrons

The array also reflects cool science in action. As sunlight strikes the solar cells, electrons are knocked loose from orbiting their atoms within the semiconductor material. Electrical conductors capture the released energy in the form of an electric current.

More hot facts:

The solar facility is anticipated to produce 19,000 megawatt-hours of energy annually, enough to power 1,500 homes (based on a usage of 1,000 kilowatt hours per month).

At 10 megawatts, E.W. Brown represents Kentucky’s largest universal solar facility.

Electricity from the solar array will be transmitted to the American power grid, which generates energy for use by all consumers, hence making it a universal facility.

The Atlanta-based division of Amec Foster Wheeler, a multi-national consultancy, is wrapping up construction of the facility, which required a peak of about 200 construction workers.

The final cost of construction is expected to be less than the original $36 million estimate.

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