Region adds more solar power
AMITY, Ark. — The Centerpoint School District and Scenic Hill Solar broke ground Thursday on a solar power plant that will help provide 100% renewable solar energy for school district operations here. When completed, the solar plant will have a capacity of 1 megawatt.
The site is district-owned property on Highway 8 and it will provide all of the school district’s electricity needs in Entergy Arkansas service territory.
Amity is located about 95 miles northeast of Texarkana.
“This energy project just makes sense from both a fiscal and an environmental standpoint,” Superintendent Dan Breshears said. “We have been working with Scenic Hill on this project for over a year and we’re very excited to see it become a reality. This solar plant project will benefit our local economy in the short term and the district for years to come.”
“The Centerpoint School District commitment to renewable energy is a great example of doing well by doing good,” said Bill Halter, CEO of Scenic Hill Solar. “The District will conserve scarce budget dollars for education while providing an onsite example to students of the power of science and math.
According to officials, the plant will:
■ Produce more than 1.5 million kWh of electricity in the first year of operation and almost 44.3 million kWh of electricity over the next 30 years.
■ Produce enough clean electricity to satisfy 100% of Centerpoint School District’s electricity consumption
■ Contain more than 2500 solar modules
■ Utilize a ground-mounted fixed-tilt solar array
■ Reduce carbon emissions by almost 31,000 metric tons which is the equivalent of: driving 76 million fewer passenger car miles or eliminating the burning of 2.3 million pounds of coal or providing over 4,600 homes electricity for one year.
The Centerpoint School District serves students from Pike, Garland, Hot Spring, and Clark counties.
Scenic Hill Solar provides commercial, industrial, government, and utility clients clean electricity through client-specific solar energy plans, according to a press release. Scenic Hill Solar Headquarters are in Little Rock. (Visit the company online at ScenicHillSolar. com.)