Editor’s note: This article is part of a special magazine celebrating 40 years of Arkansas Business. The full magazine is available here.
When Buddy Hasten looks back 40 years, he sees no real technological breakthroughs in U.S. electricity generation.
Power today is generated largely as it was in 1984, the nuclear engineer and Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas CEO said: by splitting atoms, burning coal or natural gas, and capturing the power of dams or wind turbines. Even solar power was in use on a minuscule scale 40 years ago.
The only big change has been the proportions of the mix. Coal lost ground to natural gas, nuclear power held its own, and wind and solar made major strides.
Looking ahead short term, Hasten sees a big surge in renewable energy interconnections. In the long term, he hopes for a return to nuclear generation.
Hasten and other Arkansas energy experts foresee more green power, along with efficiency improvements and possibilities in carbon capture, battery storage, geothermal power and hydrogen.
Hasten said the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the bipartisan infrastructure law have pushed a lot of money toward renewable projects. “I think you’re going to see a lot of people going after those resources,” he said.
Hasten said 3,000 megawatts of Arkansas’ coal-fired power will vanish soon when Entergy retires plants at Newark and Redfield. To avoid rolling blackouts and even worse, the state and nation need new dispatchable generation that can be called upon at any time, he said.
“Between 1984 and 2024, I didn’t mention a single new technology,” he said. “It was all a redistribution of the assets that previously existed. So the question is, is there going to be a new technology between now and 2060 that’s commercially viable? I rode around in nuclear submarines for 20 years” as a naval engineer. “So I’m a fan.”
Heather Kendrick of Entergy Arkansas said her company believes the state will capitalize on “an enormous pipeline of new and economical clean energy options” that will keep rates competitive nationally.
“We plan to maintain a diverse mix of generating resources,” Kendrick said in a statement. The utility says its nuclear and solar power will attract “prospective customers who look to electrify and decarbonize their own homes and businesses.” She added that hundreds of millions of dollars in clean-energy investments, including solar power in east Arkansas, have enticed steel and related industries to invest billions in Arkansas and create thousands of permanent jobs.
“New technology, such as carbon capture, batteries, new nuclear, geothermal, and hydrogen, will play a critical role in the overall clean energy transformation,” Entergy’s statement said.
Douglas Hutchings of Delta Solar in Little Rock said Arkansas is in an enviable position with steel plants in the northeast and a potential multibillion-dollar lithium industry forming in the southwest. He expects most Arkansans to benefit.
But in the short term, “Arkansans face a divided future regarding solar energy adoption” even with opportunities skewed its way, Hutchings said, pointing to a state policy change that will cut credits to future solar array owners starting Oct. 1.
“The switch … and the current calculations enshrined in policy are poised to overwhelmingly benefit corporate utilities and electric cooperative executives more than average citizens,” Hutchings said. “I believe minor changes can … allow both the utilities and private sectors to share in the value created by solar.”
In the long term, battery innovations will optimize customers’ energy use and save them money, Hutchings said.
Stephanie Sharp of Summit Utilities said most of the natural gas her company provides now comes from the ground, but “there is an incredible opportunity to drive economic development … through the development of hydrogen and renewable gas derived from food waste, agricultural waste and landfill waste.”
“We think that over the long term you will see more and more of this on our existing pipeline system.”
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