by Tyler Hale
The city of Paris, Arkansas is adding solar power capabilities to generate electricity for its citizens.
City officials, along with Today’s Power Inc. (TPI) broke ground on the new solar array in Paris today (Dec. 12). The 1.5 megawatt solar tracking array will sit on eight acres in Paris and is expected to generate 70,745,150 kilowatt/hour (kWh) over the course of 25 years.
“What this means for the citizens of Paris is we have additional renewable energy that we are delivering to the community,” Paris Mayor Daniel Rogers said in a statement. “I thought this would be good for economic development; everyone is moving more toward green. If it is something that can help save the environment and save the city some money, it would be a great idea.”
According to Rogers, purchasing a solar system outright was not feasible for the city. Today’s Power will finance, own and operate the solar array, with the city purchasing electricity from TPI at a rate of 4.6795 cents per kWh. The contract between TPI and the city of Paris for purchasing electricity is set for 20 years.
“We are proud to be a partner of the City of Paris with this addition of clean renewable energy to power their operations,” TPI President Michael Henderson said. “This project reflects the great vision and a true desire to modernize the image of the City of Paris by taking a giant step in sustainability, and we hope that this renewable resource will provide the city with economic stimulation and other long-term benefits for years to come.”
Installation for the solar array will begin before the end of 2019, and TPI officials estimate the project will be completed in summer 2020.
This is the second project that Today’s Power has announced in two days. On Wednesday, Dec. 11, the company announced it was partnering with Delta Farms and Southland Gin, both of Lake City, and Craighead Electric Cooperative to develop and install a three-system solar array in Jonesboro.
The Paris solar array is the ninth project for Today’s Power in 2019.
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