Hutchinson Utilities, city move forward with solar projects; small-system buyback mostly from <40 kW systems
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Summary
Staff reported five solar-project grants awarded and a system total of 21 arrays (13 commercial, 7 residential, 1 utility-owned); inverter failures reduced 2025 production but higher market prices increased net savings; commission approved cogeneration buyback tariffs.
Commissioners heard an update on local solar activity and distributed energy resources. City and utility projects received grant awards and staff said they are working with three developers on a total of 19 projects; staff also reported five solar projects were awarded grants last month.
On system performance, staff said the 625-kW solar field operated at a 16.4% capacity factor in 2025, below 2024 levels primarily because of intermittent inverter problems, including one inverter that failed and took about 3–4 months to replace. "Even though it was not fully producing with the inverter being out, it still operated pretty well as far as capacity goes," staff said.
The commission reviewed and approved the cogeneration and small power production tariffs that govern buyback rates; staff explained average retail and wholesale rates used for buyback calculations come from 2025 data. Staff also reviewed the 2025 distributed energy resources (DER) generation report showing 21 arrays on the system—13 commercial, seven residential and one utility-owned—and noted nearly all buyback energy was from systems below 40 kW.