DANVILLE, Va. – Construction of a new solar farm that will power more than 900 Danville homes will begin in August.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe made the announcement about the Kentuck Solar project on Tuesday. Once completed, the project will be Virginia’s largest municipal utility solar farm.
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The timeline of the project was announced at a round-table discussion with local officials and stakeholders during the governor's Clean Energy Jobs Tour.
“The city of Danville is excited to host the governor and discuss the plans for the construction of the 6-megawatt Kentuck solar project slated to be completed by the end of 2017,” said Jason Grey, Danville's director of utilities. “We look forward to this project providing energy and capacity to our electric customers for many years to come.”
Danville is the first city in Virginia that is making a significant push toward increased use of renewable energy, according to McAuliffe.
The $10 million investment is expected to assist with job growth in the area.
Solar jobs have increased more than 65 percent in the last year in Virginia, according to Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Todd Haymore.
TurningPoint Energy’s partnership with Danville Utilities will affect about 42,000 customer locations, including Danville, Pittsylvania, Henry and Halifax counties.
“We have developed the project, purchased the real estate, cleared the way for construction and selected Sol Systems as the solar project investor and builder to deliver on this commitment to provide solar energy to the city and our new neighbors and community, including Dan River elementary, middle and high Schools,” said TurningPoint Energy principal Jared Schoch.