Construction has commenced on a new solar project for the Bearden School District.
The district has partnered with Today’s Power Inc. (TPI) to develop and build a 226 kilowatt solar system and a 195 kilowatt solar array that are projected to generate 90 percent of Bearden School District’s energy. The 226-kW array will be located near Bearden High School while the 195-kW array will be located near Bearden Elementary School’s cafeteria.
The two solar arrays will be composed of 1,120 solar panels, generating approximately 646,000 kilowatt-hours per year, or 90 percent of the district’s energy usage. The remaining 10 percent will be supplied by Entergy. According to a Today’s Power news release, the project is expected to provide yearly savings of $25,000 for the district.
“The Bearden School District is very proud of the partnership agreement with Today’s Power to develop the first Solar Panel system for a public school district in South Arkansas, and it is estimated to save the Bearden School District over $25,000 a year in energy costs for the next 20 years.” He also said, “We greatly appreciate the insight of Ouachita Electric Cooperative General Manager, Mark Cayce, and South Central Educational Coop Director, Karen McMahen for providing this opportunity,” Bearden School District superintendent Denny Rozenberg said in a statement.
“TPI is excited to play a role in helping to educate tomorrow’s leaders by lowering the cost of the educational process. The actions taken by the Bearden School Board and leadership team proves they are preparing for the Bearden students/community to be successful,” TPI president Michael Henderson said.
A preliminary interconnection site review from Entergy has been approved, allowing construction to move forward on the project. Construction on the solar arrays is slated to be completed in September 2020.
This is the latest solar project Today’s Power has undertaken for an educational institution. In late June, the solar company activated a 100 kilowatt solar array for South Central Service Cooperative (SCSC) at the cooperative’s headquarters in Camden.
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