“These solar-plus-battery storage sites are a milestone for the state’s electric co-ops and for Roanoke Cooperative,” said Marshall Cherry, president and CEO of Roanoke Cooperative. “They reflect the values that drive our work every day: innovation, equity and commitment to the communities we serve.”

With hybrid solar and storage solutions, renewable solar energy can be captured in large batteries midday, when it’s most abundant. This energy can then be discharged during periods of peak demand for electricity — in the late afternoon hours in the summer and the early morning during the winter.

Along with the two Roanoke Cooperative sites, the 13 solar + storage sites collectively include more than 65,000 solar panels to generate more than 25 megawatts (MW). The projects will provide more than 52 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy storage, expected to be dispatched when demand for electricity on co-op systems peaks.

“These distributed energy resources are actively contributing to our systems and benefiting our members,” Cherry said. “This is rural resilience. This is cooperative leadership.”