Construction of the cooperative’s solar array wrapped up earlier this spring. There are 152 panels soaking up the rays behind North Central’s office in Attica. 
Subscriptions to the energy output of these panels were made available to members attending the annual meeting. Any member interested in purchasing a subscription to the output of these panels can pick up a contract from the cooperative office during business hours or get one from the energy services advisor.
Through the cooperative’s OurSolar program, members will be able to purchase the output from up to five panels for 1-, 5-, 10-, or 20-year increments. A five-panel subscription is estimated to generate about 175 to 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month, which is 15 to 20 percent of an average member’s monthly energy use. A subscription to a single panel is expected to cost less than $2 per month.
General Manager Markus Bryant presented information about the expected production of the solar array at North Central’s annual meeting in June. He used the PVWatts® online calculator using Mansfield weather data. A member with a five-panel subscription from mid-April to mid-May would have received 220 kWh of solar energy at the added cost of $3.08 on their monthly bill. It’s important to remember that a subscription to the output of the solar panels will slightly increase the member’s monthly electric bill and will vary slightly each month depending on the weather.   
Bryant said OurSolar reflects North Central’s balanced approach to electricity generation. While most of the power supplied to North Central will continue to be produced by coal-fired generators that are among the cleanest of their kind in the world, OurSolar gives cooperative members the option to supplement that baseload power — that is, coal-based electricity production that is highly reliable and always available — with locally produced renewable energy.

For more information or to learn how to subscribe, contact North Central Electric Cooperative at 419-426-3072.