Walton Electric Membership Corp., which provides electricity to about 123,000 customers between Atlanta and Athens, plans to build a community solar farm in northeast Walton County.
Customers who want to offset their monthly electric bill will be able to “lease” a portion of the farm and receive credit for the electricity produced by that portion.
Walton EMC spokesman Greg Brooks said existing and new customers are not required to enter the program, which will accept a still-to-be-determined limited number of households. The utility is also developing a pricing structure for customers who want to participate.
“We will not oversell,” Brooks told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday. “We will only sell the capacity that we have.”
The one-megawatt solar farm will be built on an 11-acre site off U.S. 78 near Monroe. Six acres of solar panels will be used to help produce the electricity, which is expected to be delivered by July 1.
Brooks said current customers average about 1,500 kilowatt hours of use monthly. If a customer’s portion of the solar farm produces 250 kilowatt hours of electricity, that customer would only be charged for 1,250 kilowatt hours.
The spokesman said Walton EMC has not increased rates in more than a decade. The cooperative serves Athens-Clarke, Barrow, DeKalb, Greene, Gwinnett, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Rockdale and Walton counties.
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