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Amron official previews community solar options and site visits for Webster Groves residents
Summary
Theresa Hava of Amron described how residents and small businesses can subscribe to off-site community solar — noting about 5,000 subscribers systemwide and completed facilities at Lambert and Montgomery County — and offered to provide Webster Groves–specific subscription numbers and tours of local sites.
Theresa Hava, program supervisor for community solar at Amron, told the Webster Groves Sustainability Commission that Amron’s community solar lets residents and small businesses subscribe to shared, off-site solar facilities without installing panels on their properties.
"Community solar offers an easy way for residential and small business customers to participate in solar energy without installing solar panels on their homes or business," Hava said, adding that subscribers can choose to cover from one to 100% of their energy usage and may change that percentage at any time.
Hava said Amron has about 5,000 subscribers overall and described three facilities: a 1-megawatt pilot at Lambert, a completed Montgomery County site (about 5.7 megawatts) and an adjacent New Florence installation that will open this summer. She said the arrays track the sun and that Amron is planting pollinators beneath panels at some sites.
Commissioners asked whether Hava could identify how many Webster Groves residents participate. "I don't know specifically Webster Groves. I can do a sort though and find that out pretty quickly," she replied and offered to provide Webster Groves–specific figures to the commission.
Commissioners also asked about enrollment mechanics. Hava said customers subscribe online by entering their Amron account number; the site includes a calculator showing estimated savings and costs for different subscription percentages. She encouraged residents to try the calculator and said Amron can arrange tours of local sites on request.
Why it matters: Community solar can broaden access to renewable energy for renters and for owners of heavily shaded properties that are not suited for rooftop panels. The presentation gave the commission a concrete next step — obtaining local subscriber data — to help the city assess uptake and outreach needs.
Next steps: Hava agreed to follow up with Webster Groves–specific subscription counts and to coordinate potential site visits for commissioners or residents.
