Entergy Arkansas adding two new solar energy facilities

Entergy Arkansas is looking to add two new solar energy generation projects to its portfolio.

One of the new projects is the Searcy Solar project, a 100-megawatt solar farm in White County, recently approved by the Arkansas Public Service Commission. It is slated to be operational in 2021. It will be the largest utility-owned solar project in the state and the first to feature battery storage. It will have 10 megawatts of battery storage so customers can receive solar power even when the sun is not shining.

The other new project is the 100-megawatt Walnut Bend Solar, pending approval by the Arkansas Public Service Commission. It will be designed by Invenergy Renewables, a privately held global developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions. The solar panels will feature relatively new technology: bifacial solar panels. Bifacial panels have photovoltaic cells on the panel’s top and bottom sides, increasing the amount of electricity generated per panel. Construction of the facility is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2021, and it should go online by the end of 2022.

These will join two already operational facilities — Chicot Solar, a 100-megawatt facility near Lake Village that began operations on Sept. 30; and Stuttgart Solar, an 81-megawatt facility in Arkansas County that’s been operating since 2018. They were both developed through a partnership with NextEra Energy Resources

With these new projects, Entergy Arkansas will offer customers 381 megawatts of solar power – enough for approximately 61,000 homes. Total investment by Entergy Arkansas in the four solar farms is more than $300 million, with net customer benefits of more than $170 million over the life of the facilities.