HENDERSON, Ky. (WFIE) – Residents gathered Wednesday for a public information session about a solar facility planned south of the 425-Bypass, with opinions divided on the project.
Community members who live near the planned solar project expressed differing views on whether the development will benefit the area.
Utility officials say the project will serve customers well.
“It’ll serve about 20% of our annual energy requirements,” HMP&L General Manager Brad Bickett said. “It’ll keep the power at a fixed rate for a 20-year term beginning whenever the facility goes into operation, which we anticipate to be about a year from now in 2027.”
The solar project commissioned by Henderson Municipal Power & Light and managed by Stellar Renewable Power has been in development since 2019.
“We realized we needed to add solar to our power contract mix,” Bickett said. “A lot of the other power contracts we have are tied to natural gas and they’re tied to coal, which fluctuate in price.”
Final approval for the solar facility came in 2022. Stellar purchased the project from the prior developer in 2024.
“We had to get all the proper permits and the siting in place before we moved forward with construction,” said Parker Cliatt, Stellar’s Lead Project Developer.
Wednesday’s public information meeting was held to inform neighbors and the Henderson community about project details.
Barbara Jones, who lives on Wilson Station Road, says she supports clean energy but was concerned about construction trucks damaging her road. At the session, she learned her road will not be used for project traffic.
“A lot of it will be construction traffic along state highways,” Cliatt said. “There’ll be some noise that’s happening along Lover’s Lane. But that will only last for about a week for those residents. And the rest of the project is pretty far back from other residents of the area. So they won’t have too many noise impacts.”
Another resident says he is concerned heat from the solar panels will draw severe weather to the area.
Utility officials say the project will be beneficial for customers and the community.
“This facility requires no fuel, so it produces power at a known cost for a 20-year time, keeping rates stable for the amount of power that we can take from this facility,” Bickett said.
The solar array will cover 421 acres. That’s down from the original site plan of 541 acres.
Bickett says that’s all the acreage needed to generate 20% of HMP&L’s energy needs every year.
Construction is set to start mid June and take about one year to complete.
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