The state of Arkansas and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a pair of programs today to improve power transmission and generation in Arkansas.
The state announced a $10 million grant program to upgrade the electrical grid and said it anticipates another $5 million for the program later this year.
The funds will come through the U.S. Department of Energy and were made available by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The bill was championed by President Biden and passed by Congress in 2021. None of Arkansas’s congressional delegation voted for the bill.
The initial $10 million will be distributed to utilities and related companies to prevent electric outages, according to a press release from the state Department of Finance and Administration. The deadline to submit a proposal for the grant program is July 19.
Investor-owned electric utilities, electric cooperatives, municipal electric utilities, electric grid operators, fuel suppliers and others are eligible for the program.
In a separate announcement Tuesday, the USDA said it has made eight awards to fund the installation of solar power at eight rural Arkansas businesses in Harrison, Corning, Wynne, Hoxie, Witter, Hector, Harriet and Cave City.
Some of the funding for the program comes through the federal Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate bill passed in 2022. A USDA spokesman called it the “largest single investment in rural electrification since the Rural Electrification Act of 1936.”
All six members of Arkansas’s congressional delegation voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, which is expected to bring $1.5 billion in clean energy investments to Arkansas.
Here are the businesses:
Collier Auto Supply, Inc. – $45,657 investment to install a 51.3 kilowatt (kW) solar array in its business operations in Harrison, Arkansas. The project is expected to save $3,365 and replace 67,347 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually (99 percent of historic usage).
NEA Veterinary Clinic, Inc. – $33,688 investment will be used to help install a 49.68 kilowatt (kW) solar array for their business operations in Corning, Arkansas. The project is expected to save the clinic $6,443 and generate 80,228 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually.
Papoloco, LLC – $69,084 investment to help install a 48.5 kilowatt (kW) solar array for a shopping center in Wynne, Arkansas. The project is expected to generate 72,631 kilowatt hours (kWh) and save $5,728 annually.
B, E & S Partnership – $49,655 investment to help the agricultural producer install an energy efficient grain monitoring system for their grain bins in Hoxie, Arkansas. The project is expected to save $21,063 and generate 295,893 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy annually.
Batteau Blackwood Farms, LLC – $48,600 investment to help install a 54 kilowatt (kW) solar array for one of their commercial manufacturing rental properties in Witter, Arkansas. The project is expected to save $5,083 and replace 68,809 kilowatt hours (kWh) (122 percent of historic usage) annually.
DK Wright Properties, LLC – $27,802 investment to help install a 9.4 kilowatt (kW) solar array to a commercial rental property in Hector, Arkansas. The project is expected to generate 11,293 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually.
Ink Properties, LLC – $32,363 investment to help retrofit its existing renewable energy system with solar photovoltaic upgrades including installation of new inverters and batteries for a rental cabin in Harriet, Arkansas. The discontinued use of a generator will save $5,431 and 2,282 gallons of propane annually.
Curtiss Scott – $39,375 investment to install a 32-kilowatt (kW) solar array for poultry operations in Cave City, Arkansas. The project is expected to replace 46,772 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually (73 percent of historic usage) and save $4,958 per year in energy costs.