Entergy Arkansas has begun commercial operations at a 100MW solar plant in Arkansas.
The utility acquired Walnut Bend Solar Energy Center, located in Lee County, from Invenergy which led the development and engineering as well as the construction of the facility.
“Walnut Bend will be a valuable addition to our generation fleet, which, in turn, complements our diverse mix of generation sources that have been powering life in Arkansas for more than 100 years,” said Entergy Arkansas President and chief executive Laura Landreaux.
“Our investments in these generation resources are a key part of keeping the rates our customers pay below the regional and national averages and enables us to provide reliable, affordable, and sustainable service to our customers throughout the state.”
Invenergy chief development officer Mick Baird added: “Walnut Bend is another example of Invenergy’s successful track record of building clean energy solutions, and we are proud to support Entergy’s growing solar power portfolio.
“We are grateful to the Lee County community for their partnership, and we look forward to continuing to develop projects in Arkansas to meet the state’s energy needs and invest in local communities.”
The Walnut Bend facility will generate an estimated $700,000 in annual property taxes for Lee County.
It uses bifacial solar panels and tracking equipment that tracks the sun. Bifacial panels capture sunlight on both sides of the panel, taking advantage of light reflecting off the ground, while the tracking systems adjusts their tilt so that they follow the sun throughout the day, maximising energy production.
“I am pleased to welcome Walnut Bend Solar to my district,” said Arkansas Senator Ron Caldwell, District 10.
Walnut Bend is the fourth solar resource Entergy Arkansas has placed into service – all generating renewable, emission-free solar power for all Entergy Arkansas’ customers.
The others are the 81MW Stuttgart Solar, the 100MW Chico Solar at Lake Village and the 100MW Searcy Solar.
The four facilities combined will generate 381MW of power for Entergy Arkansas customers.
Total investment is more than $300m, with net customer benefits of more than $170m over the life of the facilities.
Later this year, Entergy Arkansas will bring 430MW of solar power facilities online, comprising West Memphis (180MW) and Driver (250MW), which it will own and operate.
Two additional solar facilities, Flat Fork (200MW) and Forgeview (200MW), will come online next year.