Entergy’s Searcy Solar project in Arkansas gets go ahead

The Arkansas Public Service Commission approved the 100-megawatt Searcy Solar project in White County.

The solar facility, owned by Entergy Arkansas, will be the largest utility-owned solar project in the state. It will feature 10 megawatts of battery storage. It is slated to be operational in 2021.

This will be Entergy Arkansas’s third solar energy project, bringing the total of solar energy to 281 megawatts. The Stuttgart Solar Energy Center, open in 2018, produces 81 megawatts of solar energy, and Chicot Solar, which is under construction near Lake Village, will provide 100 megawatts of solar power when it comes online this year.

“Entergy Arkansas is proud to be leading the charge in expanding solar power in our state, and we are committed to meeting our customers’ energy needs reliably, affordably and safely as we have done for over 100 years,” Laura Landreaux, president and CEO of Entergy Arkansas, said. “Large-scale solar facilities provide the most cost-effective solar power for all customers, keeping rates low while delivering the best value for renewables in Arkansas.”

The Searcy Solar project will be built on approximately 800 acres east of Eastline Road. It will include a 10-megawatt array of lithium-ion batteries capable of storing up to 30 MW hours of electricity.

“This large solar facility will be a very effective economic development tool as we work to attract new employers and retain our existing businesses. Many corporations have renewable energy and sustainability objectives,” Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston said. “This facility, combined with Entergy’s other large solar facilities in Arkansas, will help us strengthen and grow the state’s economy.”

It will provide 200 temporary construction jobs, two of three permanent jobs, and $700,000 in annual property tax revenue.

Entergy Arkansas provides electricity to approximately 700,000 customers in the state.