A new solar farm will help to power Arkansas’ largest county.
Officials held a switch-flipping ceremony Monday at the site of a new 4.7 megawatt solar farm at the Port of Little Rock.
Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde says 90% of county operations will now be powered by clean, renewable solar energy.
“To be innovative requires commitment and belief that there are more efficient ways to do things. It means never accepting the status quo,” Hyde said. “Flipping the switch and bringing this solar array online is the result of a tremendous amount of resolve, planning and a desire to propel Pulaski County into the 21st Century.”
Hyde says the county’s transition to solar comes at no cost to taxpayers, thanks to a 25-year agreement with solar energy company Today’s Power. He says the project has been more than eight-and-a-half years in the making.
“Not long ago, if I’d told you that Pulaski County would be harvesting solar energy to provide 90% of the county’s electrical needs, the collective grumble from the naysayers would probably have registered on the Richter Scale,” he said.
The new solar farm, as well as an existing solar facility which came online in 2021, will save the county $250,000 in electricity costs each year.
