DOWNTOWN STUTTGART: Solar power coming. Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce
Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce
DOWNTOWN STUTTGART: Solar power coming.

Bill Halter’s Scenic Hill Solar announced today that it is partnering with the city of Stuttgart to build a solar power plant in the city. It’s expected to power 100 percent of all municipal operations, saving the city more than $100,000 per year.

I’ve got a query in on when the plant is expected to be operational.

UPDATE: Scenic Hill spokesman Bud Jackson says the plant is expected to be completed in early 2020.

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Related: The city of Walnut Ridge is working with Entegrity to develop a plan to use solar power for city-owned buildings, KAIT reports.

Scenic Hill has also recently partnered with Ouachita County and the city of Clarksville on similar projects.

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More from the release:

Mayor David Earney remarked, “We are excited for this partnership with Scenic Hill Solar and their CEO, Bill Halter, as we take the city to one hundred percent renewable energy for city government operations. We look to save our city over $100,000 a year. The City of Stuttgart will be producing clean, renewable energy for generations to come. The solar power plant will make the City of Stuttgart’s future brighter than it already is.”

“Our partnership with Scenic Hill Solar began almost a year ago when we decided to pursue making Stuttgart the solar capital of the Southeast United States,” says David Leech with Stuttgart Economic Development. “Scenic Hill Solar was the best option for us to power our city with a 3.15 MW solar power plant. We are continuing the development of projects in our region and are using solar to drive economic success. We are eager to see the benefits and impact for our community from our solar power plant.”

Bill Halter, CEO of Scenic Hill Solar noted, “We are proud to work with Stuttgart, the rice and duck capital of the world, as they utilize 100 percent solar electricity for all their governmental operations. This project demonstrates that businesses and government organizations can simultaneously save money, hedge against future electricity price increases, protect the environment, and foster local economic development.”

The 3.15 MW solar power plant will:

  • Produce over 5,433,000 kWh of electricity in the first year of operation and produce over 150,786,000 kWh of electricity over the next 30 years.

  • Produce enough clean electricity to satisfy 100 percent of Stuttgart governmental operations’ electricity consumption

  • Contain over 7,000 solar modules

  • Utilize a ground mounted single-axis tracking system

  • Reduce carbon emissions by over 106,600 metric tons which is the equivalent of: driving over 260 million fewer passenger car miles or eliminating the burning of over 116 million pounds of coal or providing over 18,000 homes electricity for one year.

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