Sara Russell-Lingo didn’t set out to make history. But after a few post-high-school years of dead-end warehouse jobs and a stint in retail, “I was looking for a career.”
As part of its commitment to provide more renewable resources, Entergy Arkansas plans to add a large-scale solar farm of 180 megawatts on 1,600 acres near West Memphis in 2023.
Arkansas Power and Light founder Harvey Couch made a deal in 1913 to purchase sawdust – the company’s first fuel source – to burn and power a steam-powered turbine and send power through a 20-mile transmission line to customers in Malvern and Arkadelphia.
Construction of the Searcy Solar power generating plant is about 42% complete. When the facility goes online by the end of this year, 100 megawatts of emission-free power will begin flowing from the plant’s more than 350,000 solar panels onto the Entergy Arkansas electric grid.
As I sit here on the couch with my laptop and drink a cold soda, the TV humming in the background and my ceiling fan cooling my sweaty self after hanging holiday lights, I am keenly aware of all the electricity I’m using.
The future is brighter for 61 Entergy Arkansas tax-exempt customers who will soon reap the benefits of emissions-free solar power without the burden of buying, contracting, installing or maintaining solar panels on their properties.
While sunshine is a somewhat boundless source, it has its limitations. There’s still energy needed around the clock, day or night.
Entergy Arkansas was green long before green was a thing.
Amazon is building a massive fulfillment center at the Port of Little Rock that will open in in 2021 and employ more than 1,000 people.
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