Looking up

It’s not clear if it was a decision born from jealousy or just good business, but the City of Little Rock is set to catch up with other local governments’ recent efforts on solar energy—and fast.

Little Rock is doing what Central Arkansas Water did in 2022 and Pulaski County did last year, which is add nearly 5 megawatts of solar power generation each.

The Little Rock Board of Directors approved a 4.9 megawatt solar facility that’s expected to provide up to 70 percent of its electricity needs. The city has a goal of reaching 100 percent clean energy use by 2030.

The vote was unanimous, and if the numbers hold true, it’s easy to see why. The city will save up to $27 million over the next 20 years. The presumed $27 million in cost savings is a bold guess, considering the costs of the project are still under negotiation. However, Joseph Flaherty’s article in the paper says federal tax credits are expected to allow the city to recoup 40 percent of the cost of construction. And current Arkansas law, which allows for “net metering” practices, puts icing on the cake.

Ah yes, net metering.

Net metering, in layman’s terms, is what allows commercial and residential customers that generate their own solar electricity to sell their surplus back to the utility. It’s hard to disagree with the concept, but one gigantic detail is: What should the customer/producers be allowed to charge?

In the past, for the sake of simplicity, if the overall customer base is paying $1 for a unit of electricity, the customer who is also a producer could sell a surplus unit to the utility for $1. The practice has been a major factor in enhancing the financial prospects of solar power and will continue to be in the future, but not exactly as it’s practiced today.

The Legislature recognized that the 1:1 ratio ignores the cost of maintenance for infrastructure and various other items without which the customer/ producer would be unable to sell their surplus.

At any rate, those things have been worked out, and by all accounts it should be an economic winner for the Capitol City in the long run.

Hats off to forward thinking.