As summer has ended and autumn is upon us, your electric cooperatives are making plans for next year.
Ohio’s 24 electric cooperatives use a diverse mix of fuel sources — coal, gas, solar, hydro, and biomass — to produce what has proven to be a resilient, reliable, and affordable supply of electricity in an environmentally responsible manner. We also recognize the increasing role that renewable resources play in the nation’s power grid. Solar-generated energy, particularly in this part of the country, is a hot topic.
We’ve learned a lot from the OurSolar project operations over the past couple of years and are making changes to improve the cost and the output of our next project.
In 2017, Ohio’s electric cooperative network launched the OurSolar statewide initiative that developed 23 community solar projects across the state. In total, the arrays can provide up to 2 megawatts of renewable energy, under ideal conditions. Consumer-member response to the new community-based solar farms and solar power subscription opportunities was clearly supportive. Panels available for subscription at many participating co-ops sold out almost immediately.
We’ve learned a lot from the OurSolar project operations over the past couple of years and are making changes to improve the cost and the output of our next project. Check out our “Harnessing the sun” article on page 4 for an update.
As anyone who’s lived through an Ohio winter or spring knows, we can’t depend strictly on solar-generated power — it simply isn’t reliable enough to meet our needs. However, our approach of providing community solar is a less expensive and more convenient method for our consumer-members to choose a lower-emitting, more renewable-based energy supply. We’ll continue to learn more from the project and adapt our supply mix to meet your needs.
Hope you enjoy a happy Halloween — fewer tricks, more treats.
