HUMBOLDT — Jason Humphrey couldn’t help but note the symbolism.
For more than a century, Monarch Cement Company’s products have helped build foundations of varying size and scope.
Now, with a 20-megawatt solar field helping meet a large chunk of the Humboldt plant’s needs, Humphrey said Monarch has built a proverbial foundation for sustainable renewable energy.
Humphrey, vice president of generation development for Evergy Energy Solutions, was among the speakers at a ribbon-cutting Thursday to celebrate the solar field’s completion.
The solar field, covering 97 acres adjacent to the plant on the south edge of Humboldt, was officially completed in April.
And aside from a few monitoring issues that should be resolved within a week, the panels already are producing electricity to the Monarch complex, reported Kent Webber, Monarch president.
The solar field will generate roughly one-third of Monarch’s electricity over the next 30 years.
“This project, pairing state of the art solar panels with cutting edge industrial energy management practices, is another shining example of what’s possible when we embrace new opportunities for growth,” added Crag VanWey of the Kansas Department of Commerce. “You’re demonstrating how private businesses are stepping up to meet their own needs and goals.”
VanWey lauded the collaborative approach between Monarch and Evergy.
“This project underscores … that when we’re all working together in private-public sectors, with state and local governments, federal partners, industrial partners, educational institutions and non-profit organizations all rowing in the same direction, you can make extraordinary things happen.”
For now, the Monarch plant is the largest such solar field in the state, although other, larger ones are in the works, including in southeast Kansas, Humphrey noted.
“Sustainability, for me, is the opportunity to do something that’s around for a long time, that endures no matter the outcome of the situation,” Humphrey said. “This is permanent. This is a partnership that will last, and allows this business to continue successfully.”
“When you look at the net benefit over time, the sustainability that lasts, you have absolutely done the right thing for the community of Humboldt, Monarch and the people we’re lucky enough to serve at Evergy,” he said.
WEBBER and Walter Wulf Jr., Monarch’s chief executive officer, recognized the company’s board of directors and employees who helped turn the solar dreams into reality.
Webber introduced Monarch staffers Mike Byers, Ed Splechter, Frank Schomaker and David Wells.
“These guys were the Monarch team on the ground,” Webber said. “They were the ones who planned, the ones who put the equipment in.”
