Solar-battery system area’s largest (for now) – The Iola Register

Posted on August 8, 2026 by Now.Solar

State News
August 7, 2026 – 1:26 PM
FORT SCOTT — For a fleeting few months, Fort Scott’s Sekan Printing is running the largest solar-battery system in southeast Kansas.
The family-owned commercial printing company recently went online with 300kW of solar power, paired with a 240 kWH battery, both of which were designed and installed by SEK Solar of Chanute.
Daniel Zywietz, owner of SEK Solar, said similar systems in the region are in the works, and when they’re finished, will be larger than the Sekan Printing setup.
“But it’s good to be the largest, for now,” he said.
While the presses at Sekan run 10 hours a day, the heaviest draw does not come from the presses themselves, but rather the drying process, Zywietz said.
Much of Sekan Printing’s energy draw comes early in the day before the sun is high.
That’s why having the battery system is so vital, Zywietz explained.
“Solar makes the power,” Zywietz said in an email. “The battery holds it and puts it out across those long, heavy stretches. Together they match the way the plant actually runs.”
The benefit is particularly crucial for businesses such as Sekan Printing, because their electric bills are based in part by peak demand charges, on top of energy consumed.
“A system with solar and storage together can bring both down,” Zywietz said.
SEK Solar has several other projects under way, including adding solar panels to Pump N Pete’s franchises in Iola and Humboldt, and soon will begin installing 124 solar panels behind the Humboldt Water Plant, capable of producing about 100,000 kilowatt hours of electricity.
Zywietz noted other projects in the area are in the works that eventually will have a larger solar-battery system.
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