Wes Mizell, wind site manager for Westar Energy, unlocks the gate at the entrance of the Central Plains Wind Farm.

Topeka ? Westar Energy announced Monday it’s looking for customers to sign up for a “community solar” program that would enable them to buy a certain percentage of their energy from a solar array.

The Kansas Corporation Commission recently authorized Westar to build a solar array, if the company can secure enough commitments by the end of March for the purchase of at least 1 megawatt of power — roughly enough electricity to power 164 homes.

Westar spokeswoman Gina Penzig said the company has not yet decided where the solar array will be built. But customers anywhere in Westar’s service territory would be able to participate in the program.

The additional cost for a household to receive about 15 percent of its electricity through community solar is about $10 per month at current electricity prices, Westar said. But the rates the company charges will be locked in place for the length of their enrollment, regardless of what happens to regular rates.

Customers can enroll by visiting Westar’s website, WestarEnergy.com/communitysolar.

The announcement of the community solar program comes on the heels of another initiative Westar said is meant to make it easier for customers to buy wind energy.

Westar now has a web-based tool customers can use when they pay their monthly bills online. It allows them to select what percentage of their monthly bills they want to come from wind energy.

Currently, wind makes up about 15 percent of all the power Westar produces. But for a fee, customers can select to get more of their energy from wind.

That fee had been $1 for a block of 100 kilowatt hours. Under the new system, that same block costs only 25 cents. But the new system allows customers to simply choose what percentage of their electricity they want to come from wind, without thinking in terms of kilowatt hours.

Under the new rate, an average residential customer could purchase 100 percent of their electricity from wind power at an additional cost of $2.50 to $3 per month, Penzig said.