L'Oreal building solar project at Arkansas plant

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Cosmetics maker L'Oreal USA announced Tuesday it is building thousands of solar panels at its manufacturing facilities in Kentucky and Arkansas, a move the company says will help cut carbon emissions and create two of the biggest solar-powered projects in each state.

The subsidiary of the L'Oreal Group said it plans to install 5,000 solar panels at its Florence, Kentucky, plant and another 4,000 at its North Little Rock, Arkansas, plant. Work is expected to begin later this year, with the panels that will generate electricity for the plants operational by the middle of next year. The company said the Kentucky project will be the largest commercial solar array in that state and the North Little Rock project will be Arkansas' third-largest commercial array.

With the projects, L'Oreal USA said it will have reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent from 101,634 metric tons in 2005 to a projected 20,059 this year. The projects also mean the company's five manufacturing plants in the United States will rely entirely on renewable electricity, L'Oreal said. The company will have 16 solar installations across the country with the addition of the two new ones.

"We are committed to being a sustainability leader in the United States and are proud of the progress we have made," Frederic Roze, chief executive officer of L'Oreal Americas, said in a statement released by the company.

Both projects are being developed by Little Rockbased Scenic Hill Solar. L'Oreal will own the solar panels and Scenic Hill will operate and maintain them, said Scenic Hill Chief Executive Officer Bill Halter. Halter, who is also Arkansas' former lieutenant governor, said the two arrays combined will produce about $7.5 million worth of electricity over the next 30 years.