The first of 23,000 solar panels have arrived for the six-megawatt solar farm under construction adjacent Dan River High School on Kentuck Church Road. Installation of the panels on the first array is expected to begin next week.
Construction of all three arrays and installation of panels is expected to be completed in six weeks, weather permitting.
“When operational, this solar system will generate electricity for our customers for years to come,” Danville Utilities Director Jason Grey said Friday. “The electricity generated will reduce the amount of power we have to purchase, and with its location in our service territory, we save on transmission and capacity charges as well.”
The solar farm also adds to the City’s local portfolio of renewable energy. The City owns and operates the Pinnacles hydroelectric complex in Patrick County, which generates up to 10 megawatts of power. The City also receives more than four megawatts of power, depending on water flow, from the Schoolfield hydroelectric plant on Memorial Drive.
At six megawatts, the Kentuck site will be Virginia's largest municipal utility solar farm, twice the size of the next biggest municipal utility project in the City of Bedford.
The Kentuck site consists of three arrays at various stages of construction. The posts are in place on the first array, which is located closest to the road. Posts are being pounded into the ground for the second array while grading is being completed for the third array.
McCarthy Building Companies is constructing the solar system. WGL Energy Systems owns the system and will operate it. Danville Utilities will purchase all the energy from the solar farm for the next 25 years at a fixed rate that will be its cheapest source of power supply.
Danville Utilities provides natural gas, water, wastewater and telecommunications services in Danville and distributes electricity to approximately 42,000 customer locations in a 500-square-mile service territory covering Danville, the southern third of Pittsylvania County, and small portions of Henry and Halifax counties.