by Kyle Massey
Today’s Power Inc., the Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc. subsidiary specializing in small utility-scale solar power plants for the state’s electric cooperatives, has completed a one-megawatt array in Ashley County for Ashley-Chicot Electric Cooperative.
The 3,888-panel photovoltaic array, the 17th Today’s Power project in Arkansas, was dedicated Thursday off Highway 133 North in Hamburg. Providing power enough for about 135 homes at peak production, its single-axis tracking system is considered among the most advanced at its scale in the country. All the energy from the array will be consumed locally, officials said.
“Our solar systems are customized around a utility’s wholesale billing drivers and load characteristics specifically to produce maximum value for the customer,” Today’s Power President Michael Henderson said in a statement. Ashley-Chicot Electric CEO Rodney Chapman said his co-op partnered with Today’s Power on the project because the Little Rock company has a track record of proven performance.
“Partnering with local industries to bring utility-scale solar to our service territory and demonstrating the feasibility and affordability of using solar power in Arkansas is just part of providing concern for community and more value to be a cooperative member,” Chapman said in a news release. “Improving the quality of life for our members is Job 1.”
The Ashley-Chicot cooperative, which is headquartered in Hamburg, serves more than 5,000 members in South Arkansas and Morehouse Parish in northern Louisiana.
The 3,888-panel photovoltaic array, the 17th Today’s Power project in Arkansas, was dedicated Thursday in Hamburg.