Farmers Electric Cooperative (FEC) has become a nationally-recognized solar energy leader. FEC, one of the smallest utilities in the nation, is the subject of a case study by Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) published in October.
3.5 KW (3500 connected watts) of local solar per Customer/Member (national leader)
20%+ of our Customer/Members own solar locally
20%+ of our kWhrs per year are generated with solar locally
10% Customer/Member participation in Green Power Project (NREL Top 10)
75% of the time solar produces energy during monthly peak demand
On a sunny Sunday afternoon we are typically generating 100% of our kWhrs locally
Best reliability indices among Iowa Utilities
2017 Utility Solar Market Snapshot
Solar Insights, Directly from Utilities
2017 marks SEPA’s 10th year collecting solar deployment data from utilities. This year SEPA’s utility survey had over 400 utility respondents who serve 76% of the customer accounts in the country (our most ever). Click on the grid to review the report.
Solar Insights, Directly from Utilities
2017 marks SEPA’s 10th year collecting solar deployment data from utilities. This year SEPA’s utility survey had over 400 utility respondents who serve 76% of the customer accounts in the country (our most ever). Click on the grid to review the report.
Farmers Plus Solar Farm
The newest addition to FEC solar fleet at 950 kW
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Follow Farmers:
The Path to Nearly 2 Megawatts of Solar KALONA, Iowa, Oct. 19, 2016 —
Follow Farmers is the story of how Farmers Electric Cooperative in the small Iowa town of Kalona installed nearly 2 MW of solar. The entire construction of this historic solar array is currently streaming live at followfarmers.solar.
Farmers Electric Cooperative partnered with Iowa Wind and Solar to engineer, finance, and construct their newest solar project, a 950.4 kW array consisting of 2,880 solar panels. This brings FEC’s total solar array size to nearly 2 MW. To understand the size of this array, you could think of it as enough to power more than 200 homes. This installation makes Farmers Electric Cooperative the leading solar utility in the State of Iowa.
According to project lead and Iowa Wind and Solar President Tyler Anderson, “This is the first instance we are aware of in which the entire construction and installation of a solar array of this magnitude has been available for the public to watch live. We’re encouraging folks to check out the live stream online at followfarmers.solar.” Iowa Wind And Solar is partnering with Mevo and Livestream to make this live stream possible.
Construction is ongoing, October 3rd – October 17th, 2016 at 1912 520th St SW, Kalona, IA 52247. A post-install press conference will be announced after the completion of array.
Iowa Wind and Solar is Iowa’s leading solar company, with offices based in Fairfield, Iowa and Bloomfield, Iowa. Iowa Wind and Solar’s mission is to work with electric cooperatives to help implement solar solutions, such as community solar, with a focus on aligning values between the electric cooperative utility and its members.
If you’d like more information, please contact Jen Kranz at Iowa Wind and Solar, 800-8080-SUN, or email. For access to all assets visit www.followfarmers.solar/press
by Jen Kranz
The Path to Nearly 2 Megawatts of Solar KALONA, Iowa, Oct. 19, 2016 —
Follow Farmers is the story of how Farmers Electric Cooperative in the small Iowa town of Kalona installed nearly 2 MW of solar. The entire construction of this historic solar array is currently streaming live at followfarmers.solar.
Farmers Electric Cooperative partnered with Iowa Wind and Solar to engineer, finance, and construct their newest solar project, a 950.4 kW array consisting of 2,880 solar panels. This brings FEC’s total solar array size to nearly 2 MW. To understand the size of this array, you could think of it as enough to power more than 200 homes. This installation makes Farmers Electric Cooperative the leading solar utility in the State of Iowa.
According to project lead and Iowa Wind and Solar President Tyler Anderson, “This is the first instance we are aware of in which the entire construction and installation of a solar array of this magnitude has been available for the public to watch live. We’re encouraging folks to check out the live stream online at followfarmers.solar.” Iowa Wind And Solar is partnering with Mevo and Livestream to make this live stream possible.
Construction is ongoing, October 3rd – October 17th, 2016 at 1912 520th St SW, Kalona, IA 52247. A post-install press conference will be announced after the completion of array.
Iowa Wind and Solar is Iowa’s leading solar company, with offices based in Fairfield, Iowa and Bloomfield, Iowa. Iowa Wind and Solar’s mission is to work with electric cooperatives to help implement solar solutions, such as community solar, with a focus on aligning values between the electric cooperative utility and its members.
If you’d like more information, please contact Jen Kranz at Iowa Wind and Solar, 800-8080-SUN, or email. For access to all assets visit www.followfarmers.solar/press
by Jen Kranz
Solar Garden
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There are 100+ different owners of this 50 kW community solar garden. Members of the Cooperative are offered the opportunity to purchase solar modules in this solar garden located on Cooperative property. These solar modules are installed and maintained by the Cooperative and the energy they produce is credited back to the customer on their monthly power bill.
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Site based Solar
30 sites scattered across 3 counties feed power to the Farmers Electric Cooperative grid under a Feed-In-Tariff designed to help these installations pay off in less than 10 years.
An estimated 500 kW of total solar capacity is sold to FEC each month.
Solar Schools Program
Washington Township Elementary School -- a small rural school that is part of the Mid-Prairie Schools system. Farmers Electric Cooperative received a grant from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation to support the installation of a 1800 watt solar tracker. As part of this grant the University of Northern Iowa Center for Energy and Environmental Education (CEEE) worked with WT staff on classroom curriculum integration.
Iowa Mennonite High School -- a private religious based high school. Farmers Electric Cooperative worked with the physics class and teacher Richard (Dick) Yoder-Short to install an 1800 watt solar tracker. The following year Dick with the help of his class and parents conceived, designed, and constructed a 50,000 watt (50KW) solar field.
Washington Township Elementary School -- a small rural school that is part of the Mid-Prairie Schools system. Farmers Electric Cooperative received a grant from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation to support the installation of a 1800 watt solar tracker. As part of this grant the University of Northern Iowa Center for Energy and Environmental Education (CEEE) worked with WT staff on classroom curriculum integration.
Iowa Mennonite High School -- a private religious based high school. Farmers Electric Cooperative worked with the physics class and teacher Richard (Dick) Yoder-Short to install an 1800 watt solar tracker. The following year Dick with the help of his class and parents conceived, designed, and constructed a 50,000 watt (50KW) solar field.
Solar Farm - Eagle Point 2 Sunstation
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The Eagle Point 2 solar farm was completed in 2014. This 800 kW solar farm covers 4.5 acres and is owned and operated by Eagle Point Solar LLC.
FEC buys the energy from this farm under a 10 year purchase power agreement. After 10 years the Cooperative will purchase the remaining assets and obtain ownership. This was the largest solar installation in Iowa at the time. Open House and Dedication Video |
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Farmers Electric Cooperative - Among Top Solar Utilities in United States
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2nd place added solar watts per customer
Farmers Electric Cooperative has been named among the utilities that integrated the most megawatts and/or watts per customer of solar energy in the United State in 2014, earning a spot on the Solar Electric Power Association’s (SEPA’s) annual Top 10 utility solar listings. In survey results released April 29 in San Diego, Farmers Electric Cooperative ranked No. 2 on the Annual Watts-per-Customer list, with 1,158 Watts per customer installed in 2014, and 1,653 Cumulative Watts-per-Customer (W-ac). The awards were announced at SEPA’s Utility Solar Conference in San Diego. The eighth annual survey includes figures from more than 1,000 utilities across the country on new solar they installed both in 2014 and cumulatively. “Our Top 10 survey results confirm the unstoppable momentum now propelling solar market expansion in the United States and the active role many utilities are playing in it,” said Julia Hamm, SEPA’s President and CEO. “Consumers across the country want solar, and their utilities are responding, with streamlined interconnection procedures as well as new and innovative projects and business models. And we’re seeing this growth not only in well-established markets, such as in California or Hawaii, but in unexpected pockets of solar activity, including Tennessee, Utah and Montana.” The full Top 10 listings are available on the SEPA website at www.sepatop10.org. |
SEPA Solar on the Farm VideoSPI 2014 - SEPA Honors Warren McKenna as Utility CEO of the Year 
The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) is an educational nonprofit organization working to help utilities make solar energy a safe, reliable and reasonably priced part of their energy portfolios, while benefiting themselves, their customers and the general public. As co-sponsor of both PV America and Solar Power International, SEPA provides research reports and educational opportunities, including webinars, fact-finding missions and professional networking events. |
NREL Highlights 2014 Utility Green Power Leaders
May 2015 – The US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has released its assessment of leading utility green power programs. Using information provided by utilities, NREL has developed "Top 10" rankings of utility green power programs for 2014 in the following categories: total sales of renewable energy to program participants, total number of customer participants, the percentage of customer participation, and green power sales as a percentage of total utility retail electricity sales.
Customer Participation Rate (as of December 2014)
