Sebastian County JPs give OK to solar energy measure

FORT SMITH — The Sebastian County Quorum Court took the first step toward a possible solar energy project on Tuesday.

Justices of the peace approved a resolution authorizing Sebastian County Judge David Hudson to execute a change order between the county and the company McKinstry for an investment grade audit and project development plan for solar energy for county properties during their meeting Tuesday, according to audio of the meeting provided by the county judge’s office.

Hudson said Wednesday that the resolution amended the county’s original agreement with the Seattle-based McKinstry to do a solar project analysis. McKinstry is going to assess what the county can do with solar energy with the information it already has about the county’s different facilities and properties.

Hudson said Sebastian County contracted McKinstry to implement enhancements to its HVAC, lighting and water systems, as well as replace the boiler at the Sebastian County jail, in 2017.

The construction for this took place from January to September 2018, with the project total being about $5 million. These funds were obtained from a 15-year loan, which the county has been paying off annually with the savings in utilities, maintenance and repair costs it received as a result of the enhancements.

In a memo to the Quorum Court, Hudson said the solar energy project would be similar to the previous enhancements project in its implementation. If the audit and project development plan shows the solar energy project is feasible to implement, the Quorum Court will vote whether to approve moving forward with it by securing project funding through a loan. The payments for this loan would be covered by the energy savings the county would see from the project, with the projected time frame for it being estimated at 17 years or less.

If the Quorum Court approves implementing the solar energy project, Hudson said in the memo the county will not have to pay the $25,000 the audit will cost. However, it will have to pay if it chooses to not move forward with the project. The project was not included in the previous McKinstry project because it was not calculated to be economically valid at the time. However, that changed when the cost of solar technology went down and legislation was passed during the 2019 Arkansas legislative session that created a more favorable environment for these types of projects.

Skip Woessner, director of operations for the Arkansas business unit of McKinstry, and McKinstry Regional Vice President Michael Grabham were present at the Quorum Court meeting to answer questions from the justices of the peace.

Woessner said the state legislation Hudson referred to was Act 464 of 2019. This was an act to amend certain definitions under the Arkansas Renewable Energy Development Act of 2001 and amend the law concerning the authority of the Arkansas Public Service Commission.