Delta Solar of Little Rock has completed a 320-kilowatt solar power array in England (Lonoke County) to offset 100% of the electricity load used by Imperial Ice of Little Rock, which expects to save nearly a million dollars in power bills over the life of the system.
Imperial Ice is taking advantage of the state’s remote net-metering policy, which allows a system to be built anywhere in the customer’s same utility service territory, with the off-site meter running backward from the outflow of solar energy onto the grid, and the credits applied to the primary meters.
“Electricity had been our largest cost, and we were looking at ways to lower that expense,” said Imperial Ice owner Mark Enderlin. “Solar was the right solution, but we didn’t have the room on our property to accommodate a system. Delta Solar provided an off-site location that allowed us to build an array and significantly lower our electric bill.”
The packaged ice maker and distributor in west Little Rock, which serves 600 snow cone stands, convenience stores, retail stores, drug stores, grocery stores, liquor stores, restaurants and more, projects it will save $857,000 in energy costs over the next 30 years.
“We are always eager to help Arkansas entrepreneurs explore the benefits of solar technologies to their operations,” said Douglas Hutchings, the solar engineering Ph.D. who is CEO of Delta Solar. “Every system is unique to our client’s needs, and we were pleased to work with Imperial Ice to design and construct a system that meets 100 percent of the company’s energy demand and generates savings to reinvest into their business.”
