Prospect of Solar Power Rises in Ashley County

Ashley County sees a big ball of energy up in the sky, and it is looking to a Kansas company to possibly harness the sun’s power.

Last week in Crossett, the Ashley County Quorum Court heard a proposal from representatives of Tradewind Energy of Lenexa, Kansas, to put a 2,000-acre solar generation plant near the Mist community northeast of Hamburg. (Mist is sunnier than its name would imply, company officials say.)

Tradewind, described as one of the largest renewable-energy project developers in the United States, hopes to build the solar array with Act 9 bonds, instruments that under Arkansas law provide long-term financing for businesses expanding or locating in the state.

Partnering with the county, Tradewind would lease acreage and run the solar farm for 20 to 30 years under an agreement to sell the power to a utility, perhaps Entergy Arkansas, according to the Ashley News Observer, which first reported the solar developments last week.