Clarke Solar Farm unveiled

Overcast skies, wind, rain. Conditions for the Clarke Solar Farm unveiling 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 26, were less-than-ideal, but staff kept their chins up.

“We should have brought our monitors and shown the production for today,” said Michelle Dirks, communications coordinator for the Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO).

The plant is one of five sites in a utility-scale solar power deployment by CIPCO. Development went quickly for the project.

“Once the coops picked which of the five would get the ground, it was live by the end of the year,” said Dirks.

Why was Osceola chosen? According to Clarke Electric Cooperative Manager of Member Services, Jason Gibbs, it came down to practicalities.

“We had land available,” he said.

Four to six acres is needed to generate 1 megawatt of electricity. One of the benefits to solar installations, however, is their ability to be placed in areas undesirable for other uses. No farm land is lost or forest cleared.

The Clarke Solar Farm is compromised of 44 racking tables, supporting 1,548 photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. The system is capable of producing 636,780 kWh of energy a year. According to Clarke Electric Cooperative General Manager and Chief Operating Officer Dave Opie, that’s enough to completely power 63 homes a year.

“Clarke Electric Cooperative is honored to work with CIPCO on this and be involved in Iowa’s largest utility-scale solar farm project,” said Opie. “This solar installation has been a great educational experience for Clark Electric Cooperative. We were able to, with CIPCO’s help, we were able to take advantage of their expertise.”

The Clarke site is just one piece of the puzzle in CIPCO’s plans for generating affordable, Earth-friendly energy.

“About 60 percent of our energy supplied to our member systems is carbon-free and emission-free,” said CIPCO CEO Dennis Murdock. “We support continued development of diverse and environmentally-friendly energy sources.”

The five-site project is capable of powering 700 homes a year, and will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3500 tonnes.

“Clarke Electric is always concerned about spending our resources wisely and the utility-scale solar supports that goal. It’s a really great fit for Clarke Electric,” said Opie.

Readers can check output based on daily, weekly, yearly or total generation by the solar site at the Clarke Electric Cooperative (CEC) or CIPCO websites.