4 Rivers Electric General Manager Dennis Svanes says a seven-acre “solar farm” near Americus is good news for the cooperative and its customers.
On KVOE’s Morning Show recently, Svanes said the sun farm in the 2700 block of Road M will help both the cooperative and customers save money on electric costs as soon as it’s online, perhaps by next summer. Svanes also said solar energy works well for 4 Rivers because peak solar energy — summertime — coincides with peak energy use by customers.
4 Rivers is one of 12 electric cooperatives in Kansas to partner with Today’s Power to build 20 sun farms across the state. The goal is to generate more than 20 megawatts, roughly one megawatt per facility.
The plan is to connect the sun farm directly into 4 Rivers’ Americus substation nearby. Svanes says the Americus and Thunderbird substations near Emporia’s western edge are already connected, so the power could go to both substations depending on the situation.
The Americus project is slated to go before the Lyon County Planning and Appeals Board on Dec. 9. Groundbreaking could happen as soon as January if the project gets approval from the Lyon County Commission. Based on that timeline, the sun farm could be generating power by early June. The plan is to connect the sun farm directly into 4 Rivers’ Americus substation nearby. Svanes says the Americus and Thunderbird substations near Emporia’s western edge are already connected, so the power could go to both substations depending on the situation.
