Waverly Utilities has entered into an agreement with Sandhills Energy to build a state-of-the-art 4-megawatt solar generation facility that will produce an estimated five percent of the utility’s electricity. Sandhills will own and maintain the equipment, while Waverly Utilities will retain ownership of the land. The utility will invest in an appropriate transformer and pay for the solar-generated electricity it uses. Sandhills will be responsible for everything else, including maintaining a low-growth pollinator habitat on the site. There will be no increase n cost to Waverly Utilities customers. The new facility will be located off of Highway 3 between Waverly and Shell Rock. The solar arrays are expected to generate electricity even when partially covered by snow. Waverly Utilities expects the solar array to more than replace the decommissioned hydro units. Infrastructure work is expected to be complete by the end of this year with Sandhills’ portion being completed by the end of next year.
