Entergy Arkansas issues RFP for 1,000 MWs of renewable energy
LITTLE ROCK — Entergy Arkansas announced Thursday it has issued a request for proposals for 1,000 megawatts of solar and wind generation resources, emissions-free renewables that can provide cost-effective energy supply, capacity, fuel diversity, and other benefits to its customers.
“Entergy Arkansas has a commitment to providing our customers with low-cost, reliable energy as well as more renewable generation,” Kurt Castleberry, director of resource planning and marketing operations, said in a news release.
“We continue to grow green energy within our diverse portfolio of power resources to better serve our existing and growing customer base and look forward to some exciting proposals.”
Resources would be procured through a combination of one or more build-own-transfer agreements, selfbuild alternatives, or one or more power purchase agreements that would be in operation between May 2025 and December 2026, the release said.
Solar facilities would be required to be within the Entergy Arkansas service territory, while wind resources could be located anywhere in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator or Southwest Power Pool footprints, it said.
“Entergy Arkansas currently has 281 megawatts of solar power providing clean, emission-free renewable energy to customers — enough to power 45,000 homes. In addition to the Stuttgart and Chicot solar facilities, the company’s largest solar farm — Searcy Solar Facility — came online in late 2021, with generation capacity of 100 MWs and batteries that can store 30 MWs.
“The company is the largest energy provider in Arkansas and has a diverse mix of energy sources to ensure reliability, safe and cost-effective power to its 728,000 customers that are spread out among 63 of the state’s 75 counties, covering more than 40,880 square miles,” it said. Additional solar and wind resources would complement the diverse and carbon-free generation Entergy Arkansas fleet, which includes hydroelectric facilities at Carpenter and Remmel dams, three solar facilities and Arkansas Nuclear One. Nuclear energy accounts for about 70% of the fuel mix for the company’s customers, followed by hydropower at 16%, with the remaining power sourced from coal, natural gas and solar, according to the release.