Paris Mayor Daniel Rogers (seated) with Today's Power Inc. President Michael Henderson (in the blazer) and members of the Paris City Council.
Arkansas’ version of the City of Lights will be powering a lot of bulbs with home-generated solar energy soon.
The city of Paris — the one in Logan County — has tapped Today’s Power Inc. of Little Rock to install 1.5 megawatts of city-based power, providing a steady stream over 20 years for less than a nickel per kilowatt hour.
Today’s Power, the electric cooperatives’ subsidiary that has built arrays for co-ops across the state, will finance, build and operate the array under a contract for the city to buy the output at 4.67 cents per kwH, less than half the average Arkansas retail rate, according to figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“What this means for the citizens of Paris is we have additional renewable energy” to deliver to the community,” Mayor Daniel Rogers said in a statement. “I thought this would be good for economic development; everyone is moving more toward green.”
The arrangement reduces costs in part by taking advantage of federal investment tax incentives, Rogers said, noting that he’s been interested in pursuing a solar project for more than two years.
Paris, a town of about 3,500 with few city employees, didn’t see buying a solar array as economical. “One company that we looked into required almost $3 million as an initial investment,” he said. “Maybe over the long term that would have saved money, but with financing and interest charges, I am not completely positive.”
Today’s Power offered a clearer option, Rogers said.
Today’s Power President Michael Henderson praised Paris’ leaders, calling the project a “giant leap in sustainability, and we hope that this renewable resource will provide the city with economic stimulation and other long-term benefits.”
Paris already had hydropower as part of its generation portfolio, but Rogers said it’s important shine the city’s renewable light. “I think it will be beneficial to our community to be able to say that we are a green community,” Rogers said.
Installation is expected to begin before the new year, and be completed by summer.
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