There is something quietly revolutionary about a city government helping its residents buy solar panels the way a co-op buys grain in bulk. That is the idea behind Solarize Lexington, the city-run program that for four years has been shepherding homeowners, small businesses, nonprofits and houses of worship through the confusing, often intimidating process of going solar. And on Monday, Sept. 14, at 2 p.m., the program will hold its final informational workshop of the year — a free, hour-long virtual session where anyone still on the fence can ask real questions of real solar experts.
For anyone who has ever stared at a utility bill and wondered about the panels on a neighbor's roof, this is the moment to show up. The interest form deadline is Friday, Oct. 2, and signing it carries no obligation to buy. But the city is blunt about the stakes: after Monday, there are no more workshops, no more hand-holding sessions, no more chances to sit in front of an expert and ask, 'Will my roof even work for this?' The clock is winding down.
The workshop is the end of a long road that began long before this year's enrollment season. Solarize Lexington launched in 2023 as part of the city's sustainability push, a partnership between the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and the Kentucky Solar Energy Society. The model itself was born in Portland, Oregon, where neighborhood groups first realized that by pooling their demand, they could drive down the per-panel price and demystify the installation process. The idea spread across the country, and Lexington adopted it with a distinctly Bluegrass twist: a vetted local installer, a step-by-step city-guided process, and a bulk-purchase discount that has grown over the years from 15 percent to 20 percent off wholesale rates.
The results have been measurable. Since the program's launch, Solarize Lexington has facilitated 128 residential solar installations across the region. The demand was evident from the very first week — in March 2023, more than 160 homeowners filled out interest forms within days of the announcement, far exceeding the city's expectations. Solar Energy Solutions, the local contractor selected through a bid process, became the program's exclusive installer, and sales representatives began fielding calls from residents who ranged, as one sales manager put it, from people seeking energy independence to those who simply wanted to shrink their carbon footprint.
This year, the program reached further than ever before. New for 2026, Solarize Lexington expanded beyond Fayette County to include all six counties in the Lexington-Fayette County Metropolitan Statistical Area — Bourbon, Clark, Jessamine, Scott and Woodford. The expansion was fueled by an EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Planning Grant and follows a Central Kentucky regional climate plan. It is a recognition that the sun does not stop shining at the county line, and neither should the city's assistance.
The expansion comes at an unusual moment for solar economics. The federal residential solar tax credit expired on Jan. 1, 2026, a change that has reshaped the calculus for homeowners considering panels. But there is a significant exception that the city is eager to publicize: small businesses, nonprofits and places of worship can still claim federal solar tax credits as direct cash refunds under the Inflation Reduction Act — reducing project costs by up to 30 percent — provided their projects are operational by the end of 2027. That is why the city is encouraging these organizations to participate this year, at a moment when the discount is at its steepest.
There are other caveats worth knowing. Grant funding is not available this year, so participants remain responsible for the discounted cost of installation. Contracts must be signed by Friday, Oct. 16, and all installations must be completed by Dec. 31. And the city is warning residents to be wary of scammers: Solarize Lexington will never call or knock on doors unsolicited. If someone claims to represent the program and shows up at your doorstep, they are not from the city.
What the workshop offers is clarity. The Solarize team will walk participants through eligibility, the free solar assessment of their property, and the step-by-step installation process. The city has promised that filling out the interest form is purely informational — the team will assess your roof's orientation, shading and available space, and then it is up to you. No pressure, no obligation, just information from experts who have done this 128 times before.
Monday's workshop is the final door into that process. For the homeowners of Fayette, Bourbon, Clark, Jessamine, Scott and Woodford counties who have been thinking about solar but have not yet acted, it is the last scheduled chance to ask the questions that matter: Will this work for my house? What will it cost after the discount? What happens if my roof needs work first? And — perhaps most importantly — is this the year to finally do it?
Lexington's broader ambitions hang in the balance. The city council unanimously voted in 2023 to set a community-wide net-zero carbon emissions goal for 2050, and energy is one of the largest sources of those emissions. Every rooftop array that goes up under Solarize Lexington is a small step toward that target, a visible, practical answer to a goal that can otherwise feel abstract. As the city's environmental initiatives specialist, Chrissie Balding, put it, solar is 'a way to help kind of move the needle.'
The needle has moved 128 times already. Monday, at 2 p.m., the city will give residents one more chance to move it again — before the deadline arrives and the sun keeps shining on roofs that could have had panels on them.