Distillery Solar in Kentucky: 500 kW at Star Hill Farm

This distillery solar in Kentucky project brings 500 kW of clean, locally generated power to Star Hill Farm in Loretto, Kentucky. Solar Energy Solutions (SES) designed and installed the ground-mounted array for East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC), which owns the system and uses it to serve the farm and its historic distillery operations. The result is a utility-scale-quality installation built into one of the most recognizable landscapes in Marion County.

About Star Hill Farm and EKPC

Star Hill Farm is a working farm of roughly 1,100 acres in the rolling hills outside Loretto, Kentucky, where distilling, barrel warehousing, and agriculture share the same land. For a property built on patience and long-term stewardship, energy is one more resource worth managing carefully.

EKPC is a not-for-profit generation and transmission cooperative owned by 16 distribution cooperatives across Central and Eastern Kentucky, which together serve more than 1 million Kentuckians. Learn more about EKPC. EKPC owns and operates the Star Hill Farm array as part of its cooperative solar portfolio, so the clean energy it produces stays in the hands of a member-owned utility.

Project Goals

The partners set out to deliver three things: lower energy costs, greater energy price stability, and meaningful progress toward the farm’s sustainability goals. Solar generation is produced on site at a predictable cost over decades, which makes it a natural fit for any operation that plans in years rather than quarters.

Execution mattered as much as the goals. Distilleries run on tight schedules, and the site’s barrel warehouses, roads, and visitor traffic all had to keep moving during construction. SES planned staging, deliveries, and work sequencing around ongoing operations to avoid disrupting daily production. That kind of coordination is what separates a successful distillery solar in Kentucky project from a difficult one.

System Design: Built for Rolling Terrain

Central Kentucky hillsides are beautiful, but they are rarely flat. SES engineered the ground-mount layout to follow the site’s natural contours, arranging rows to work with the slope instead of requiring heavy grading. This approach protects the surrounding land, reduces site work, and keeps the array tucked neatly into the property.

Why Bifacial Modules Make Sense for Distillery Solar in Kentucky

The array uses bifacial dual-glass modules, which collect sunlight on both the front and back of each panel. Light reflecting off the ground beneath the rows reaches the rear side and adds production that a traditional single-sided panel would miss. Trina Solar rates this back-side gain at up to 25% depending on ground reflectivity.

Dual-glass construction also adds durability. The modules carry a 30-year power warranty, guaranteeing 98% of rated output in year one and no more than 0.45% decline per year after that. For an owner like EKPC, that long warranty period translates directly into decades of dependable output from every distillery solar in Kentucky investment it makes.

Production and Environmental Impact

The Star Hill Farm array is projected to generate approximately 659,400 kWh in its first year. Applying the module’s warranted degradation schedule across its 30-year warranty period, the system is expected to produce about 18.5 million kWh of clean electricity over its life.

Using the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, that lifetime output avoids that lifetime output avoids roughly 32.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide. That is the equivalent of taking about 37.5 million miles of driving off the road, or avoiding the burning of more than 16 million pounds of coal.

For a property defined by its land, those numbers represent a long-term commitment to the same place for generations to come, and a clear example of what distillery solar in Kentucky can deliver.

Why SES

SES brings the same approach to every project, whether it is distillery solar in Kentucky, a rooftop system for a local manufacturer, or a ground-mount array for a utility partner. We work with commercial, agricultural, nonprofit, and utility clients across the Southeast and Midwest, and every project is built by our own crews.

Founded in Kentucky in 2006, SES handles design, engineering, procurement, and construction in house, from the first site visit through interconnection. That end-to-end control is what allows our team to build on difficult terrain, work around active operations, and deliver a finished system that performs as designed for decades.

Whether you operate a distillery, a farm, a manufacturing plant, or a utility, SES can help you evaluate what solar could do for your site. Explore more SES commercial projects or request your free solar quote today.