Details About City of Cincinnati's Massive Solar Array Announced

The 1,000-acre, 310,000-panel array will power buildings across the city, including all of the city's municipal facilities

The City of Cincinnati will get a lot more green under an ambitious solar energy contract announced Nov. 21.

A 1,000-acre, 310,000-panel array will power buildings across the city, including all of the city's municipal facilities, and provide 25 percent of energy used by municipal functions from 40 miles away in Highland County, Mayor John Cranley said at a news conference about the effort.

The array will be funded and built by Cincinnati's Creekwood Energy and Chicago-based Hecate Energy, which will provide the renewable energy to the city at a fixed rate via a 20-year contract. City administration says the arrangement will save the city $1.7 million over the duration of the deal.

Cranley announced the details of the deal at Cincinnati Police District 3 headquarters in Westwood, which runs on renewable energy via solar panels.

“Cities need to take action — and that’s exactly what Cincinnati is doing," he said. "We are spending money we would already spend on power to buy lower-cost renewable energy that also benefits the community."

The entire solar array will be completed sometime in 2021, Cranley said — and some of it will be up and running by the end of next year. The array will generate enough electricity to power 25,000 homes a day, the city says.

Environmental groups applauded the deal, facilitated by the World Resources Council and Rocky Mountain Renewables Accelerator via the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge. Cincinnati was one of 25 cities selected last year to participate in the $70 million Bloomberg program.

“Cincinnati is a bright spot for clean energy not only in Ohio but among cities across the country that are leading the way to a more sustainable future,” Natural Resources Defense Council’s Ohio energy policy director Daniel Sawmiller said. “Today’s announcement of a significant city-led solar energy development creates a crucial economic opportunity for the Ohio and sets a new bar for cities that have committed to 100-percent renewable energy across the country.”

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