Southside Public Water Authority and Southside School District have partnered to implement co-located solar arrays.
According to solar development company Entegrity, by sharing a site and reducing fixed costs, the authority and district increased the amount they will save over the life of the projects — estimated at $1 million and $2.3 million, respectively.
Water treatment and distribution make up the majority of the authority’s energy consumption. Southside Public Water Authority’s new 480 kW array will significantly reduce its operating expenses and bring more renewable energy to the state, according to Entegrity. Entegrity’s team designed the systems and is currently on-site for construction.
“Our services attribute to the daily activities of our community, so we wanted this project to be both environmentally beneficial and fiscally responsible. Adding this infrastructure adds value to our facilities and helps us stabilize the impact of energy on our customers’ water rates for the coming years,” said Southside Public Water Authority Manager Scott Williams.
The school district’s 1.44 MW array is expected to be completed by early 2022.
“Southside schools and taxpayers will benefit from this project as it greatly reduces the cost to keep our facilities running. We can now shift school funds from utility bills to education efforts,” said Southside School District Superintendent Dion Stevens.
“Southside Public Water Authority and Southside School District become better stewards of the community and boost our area’s economic development with this venture. As a proponent of the Solar Access Act, I’m excited to see Southside take advantage of solar energy,” said State Sen. James Sturch.
The Arkansas Solar Access Act of 2019 was designed to remove Arkansas’ ban on solar leasing and power purchase arrangements.
Entegrity is an energy services, sustainability, and solar development company specializing in the implementation of energy conservation and renewable energy projects.
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