Solar Array - February 2022 Quarterly Newsletter Article

[As Originally Printed in the February 2022 Quarterly Newsletter]

OSAWATOMIE AND EVERGY ANNOUNCE SOLAR PROJECT

The City of Osawatomie is excited to announce a partnership with Evergy to explore building up to three (3) megawatts of solar to power our community. The location of the proposed solar array is in the Northland property, just north of the Osawatomie State Hospital campus. The Northland properties were given to the City by the State of Kansas as part of an economic development agreement and the City has been eagerly searching for the perfect industrial or manufacturing development.

From Evergy’s release: “Osawatomie’s strong leadership shows their investment to continued growth in renewable energy and commitment to our partnership,” said Lloyd Jackson, managing director, Evergy Energy Partners. “Our Evergy team is proud to partner with Osawatomie as they expand their energy sources that will continue to serve the community.”

Deputy City Manager Bret Glendening said, “We are very excited to work with Evergy and KMEA on this solar project, and they have been great partners to work with in the development process. This project is a great opportunity to diversify our municipal electric utilities' generation portfolio even further, and one of the best parts is that it's within the city limits of Osawatomie.”

The City of Osawatomie and Evergy will conduct a viability study before proceeding to building the solar array and entering into a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the energy. Evergy Energy Partners would construct, own and maintain the solar facility, but the City would retain the right to purchase it after seven years and add the facility to our portfolio of generation assets.

More information on the proposed solar array will be made available as the project develops.